Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I take this amendment in the spirit in which it has been tabled. We discussed this issue in great detail on Committee Stage. In terms of using it or losing it, I want permissions that have been granted to be activated. We need to do that. It is something that can be done through the introduction of the zoned land tax, land value sharing and other measures that we are bringing forward. For large-scale developments, I genuinely think setting a 12-month timeframe would be really problematic. There was a general understanding that good permissions that had been granted could not be activated if this clause was introduced. I do not mean this in a condescending way. I know the spirit in which the amendment has been tabled is well meaning. We all want to make sure that permissions are activated. Setting an arbitrary 12-month limit would cause a problem. I have not changed my views since Committee Stage and I cannot accept amendment No. 21.