Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I concur with Senators Boyhan and Higgins on the need for the highest standards of accountability and transparency in any State agency or organisation. However, the provisions made in respect of the LDA mean that it will be accountable not only to the Minister and the Government, but to the Oireachtas. It will be accountable to all Oireachtas joint committees, the Committee of Public Accounts and the Comptroller and Auditor General. It will be subject to freedom of information legislation and will rely on the planning authorities for planning permission for any developments it seeks to undertake, which it will do in partnership with our local authorities. They are ably represented by our local authority members, who defend and champion their community's interests at every opportunity. I have observed the agency with regard to communications on its website and it has made the database publicly available. That is the valuable information and it can be argued that it is, initially, the most valuable contribution the agency can make to helping us all to address the housing crisis. It is compiling and assembling a publicly available database, which will be open to public scrutiny. There could not be more transparency. The minutes of board meetings are posted on the website and are freely available to the public. As I have said, the organisation is accountable not only to the Government, but to the Oireachtas and to all of its organs, and is also subject to freedom of information legislation. These are very valuable mechanisms to ensure there is full accountability and transparency. With regard to stipulating that a direction must be published in a national newspaper, while I am a reader of newspapers myself, who among us knows whether there will be national newspapers, international newspapers or newspapers at all in 50 or 100 years? I am sure the Minister will confirm this but I believe the highest standards of governance, accountability and transparency have to be met by the LDA. I know the rest of my party agrees with that and I believe the Minister is legislating to ensure it.