Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to put something on the record, as I have been contacted about this. Development plans are obliged to be drawn up with due regard to legislation, national policy, national planning advice and so forth. A development plan is a complex document drawn up by those who have unparalleled knowledge of their county and their aims for it. It is contributed to by the public through an extensive round of consultation. It is a collaborative, informed, visionary document for the local area by local people. For the development plan to be subjugated to the whim of a Minister is totally unacceptable.According to the contact, for the guidelines of a Minister to carry supremacy over local statements of intent regarding a development plan is an undermining of democracy of the worst kind. I would be interested in the Minister of State's comments in this regard.