Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to make this clear. We will know what everyone said when we have the Official Report on this meeting. To reiterate, nobody is egging it. We are in a Parliament where we can have free speech and a robust debate. That is the reality of it. If people do not like it, they can leave or they can get up and counteract it. That is fair enough. That is politics.

I take on board and agree with Senator Seery Kearney's point about public meetings. Most councillors and, indeed, Deputies, hold public meetings about issues around the development plan. However, public consultations and meetings work and no one should suggest that this is different. The Library and Research Service's Bill digest also states, as a fact, that the Bill "replaces the mandatory requirement" on city and county council executives to hold public meetings, as does the explanatory memorandum. That is what the Bill says. That is not a spin I am putting on it. It is what the Bill says.