Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have listened to the debate and I agree fully that marine spatial panning deserves recognition in the Seanad and in the Dáil, and it deserves clarity and a plan. However, I am concerned, to say the least, at the manner in which this amendment is being introduced. It refers, I believe, to section 7 of the national planning framework and policy objectives 38, 39, 40 41a and 41b, which combine with respect to realising Ireland's island and marine potential. However, it is very short. We speak about public consultation and I heard what the previous speakers said about that. To take a step back from this, the national planning framework is not even being debated line by line in the Houses of the Oireachtas. We are not allowed to vote on it or to have our say. I made a submission as an ordinary citizen in the first round of public consultations and I made one, as did many others, to the second round of public consultations, but I got no feedback. No report was compiled on the first or the second round of public consultations. We are considering a 20-year vision for the future of the country and no report was compiled on those submissions, irrespective of whether they merited consideration. In the final weeks leading up to the publication of the national planning framework, it appeared that political interference dictated the direction of the framework rather than the submissions which were made. That was wrong and we have no opportunity to question it.