Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In contrast to the Minister of State, I want to express my disappointment that amendments Nos. 41 and 42 have been voted down by the Dáil. I am particularly disappointed that Fianna Fáil Members of this House had supported the amendments and yet Fianna Fáil abstained on the same vote in the Dáil, making it inevitable that those amendments would fall. Without rehearsing the previous debates, when the planning framework was launched in February Sinn Féin began raising questions about the validity of the plan without a vote in the Oireachtas. Other parties articulated their concerns at the time. Deputy Barry Cowen said, "Fianna Fáil has put down a number of amendments in the Seanad to strengthen the role of the Oireachtas in overseeing the National Planning Framework." We can discuss the era of new politics all we want but when we are faced with the notion that processes should be outward-looking, open and transparent it seems the powers that be consistently buckle.

We have had this conversation before. The planning framework is a huge undertaking of State capital and taxpayers' money. These processes should not go unvouched and unchecked by these Houses. It demeans the work of Deputies and Senators. I appreciate that the Minister of State, Deputy English, has in debates on these amendments committed to constant interaction with Members on regional and county plans. However, this should be open to public discourse and scrutiny rather than interaction in the privacy of Government Buildings. While I am frustrated about the important amendments that have been dealt a blow in the Dáil, I accept the decision. In the true spirit of an open democracy, I call on the Minister of State to engage in the Houses on all further plans relating to the planning framework and to support us and those we represent.