Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I shall not waste the Minister's time as we have a lot to get through today.

I commend the Minister on the work that he has done to date. He took the poisoned chalice and by God has he run with it since. He still has a lot more to do and, therefore, needs our support. That is what I intend to do as far as is practicable.

One does not need to have been a county councillor to understand the legislation or what the Minister is trying to do. Yesterday, my colleague, Senator Ó Clochartaigh, raised the issue of homelessness in my home city of Galway. Every town and village in Ireland is now plagued with homelessness. The Minister is not a magician but he has taken a fair crack at solving the problem and Senators must assist him, as far as is practicable.

The amendments tabled by Senator Boyhan and I deal with the charges imposed on councillors who make representations about planning. We want the associated fees abolished. The provision will put local democracy front and centre, as do all of our amendments. We have tried to facilitate the Minister as best as we can. We have also borne in mind the people who operate at the coalface in every town and village because they must face their constituents with decisions that are made. It is not unreasonable to request that a formal council meeting on a statutory footing should be held to brief local authority members. It is more than likely that we will not push a vote on the matter. If, however, the Minister does not accept our proposal, we will table an amendment on Report Stage. We will continue to do so until such time as we have completely lost the battle.

I shall not reiterate what previous speakers stated. We support the Minister, as best as we can, and ask him to be reasonable. I urge him to take our suggestions on board, as far as practicable, and to promise regulations where regulations suit the issues. I will not be opposing section 3 and I will support the Minister in respect of it. Let us see if we can find ways to work through the various issues together.