James Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to reiterate what I have said previously. Fingal County Council had its reservations, a period of nearly a year elapsed in which time there was ample opportunity for it to address its reservations, have them looked into and sorted, and it was quite happy at the end of it. It has made it very clear that it is happy with it. To state that because it collects rates, it has an immediate conflict of interest, is the same as to say it has a conflict of interest when it comes to planning. I do not believe it has a conflict of interest and I will protect and defend the reputation of Fingal County Council and its executive in this regard.