Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I want to be clear because as we talk here, others are listening outside. Amendments Nos. 15 and 16 are in response to the AILG and LAMA request of myself and our group. They seek to put in place a guarantee that there will be a meeting in public of the council or the municipal authority or the area committee of which an LRD, this application, will be discussed, at which a planner will be there to take the elected members through the proposal. The elected members will be able to set out on the public record their views in relation to this large-scale development. Those views will then be embodied and incorporated into the planner's opinion which would be subsequently sent into the board. That is all I am asking to do here regarding these two amendments. The amendments speak for themselves but I want to be crystal clear. I am not particularly interested in who is going to be informed of what. This is about the elected members sitting in their council chambers in an open and transparent way, making a contribution in their municipal or local authorities. It is where local democracy should take place and where people should be listened to and engage. It is about a mutual respect for the professional planners and the councillors to engage and to share their knowledge. That is what I am attempting to do and why I will put the amendment to a vote today so that we will have a record of where people stand on this.