Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for proposing this amendment. It is good practice to consult on such statements of strategy and that is commonly done. The new Office of the Planning Regulator, which I established earlier this year, had a six-week public consultation process. The Senator mentioned the balance between the independence of a regulatory body and the need for engagement and consultation with the bodies it is regulating, about which I have previously spoken. If, for whatever reason, the new regulator decided not to consult with other bodies, section 23 of the Bill empowers me to direct the regulator to do so. If that direction is not followed, under section 21, my approval is needed before the statement can be published. I cannot imagine that any Minister would allow something like that to be published if it had not gone through the proper consultation first. I hope those assurances are sufficient for the Senator. I appreciate her co-operation on this amendment.