Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister has already replied on the amendments but I will formally put them. The Minister said that amendment No. 114 relates to a situation where the Minister is entitled to form an opinion. To be clear, our amendment relates to a situation where the Minister is not entitled to form an opinion. It relates to where a court has said that the Minister was not entitled to form an opinion. Extraordinarily, the Bill states that, even where a court has found that the Minister is not entitled to form an opinion, the direction based on that opinion that the Minister was not entitled to form will effectively still stand.

The other important point related to ensuring a prioritisation of the planning framework over the planning statement. It was put to us that the other amendment was very vague but it is actually very important. It ensures that there will not be a protective measure by a regional assembly where the impact of that action will be irreversible. Where a decision is pending, we should not see the effective pausing of a protective measure to protect against an action that may be irreversible. I wanted to add that for context. I appreciate that the Minister has already responded on the amendments.