Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response to the amendments. I take on board his comments on the Office of the Planning Regulator. We are talking about the office rather than the personality. The Minister made those points well.

As regards timelines, the periodic critical review that is part of his vision will clearly happen first. It should feed into the Minister's proposals in amendment No. 716, which relates to the new advisory board. It would make sense to have a periodic review. The commitment is that it will be undertaken in the latter half of this year. Despite all of the constraints, the positions and where we will all be in time, the Civil Service does not stop. Things go on. The Minister is committed to this review. There are only three months until the end of the year. Does he see it starting before then? I believe it is important. We cannot judge the outcome. It is a proper independent process but it is important.

I will speak to part of the misunderstanding or suspicion about the OPR. Some of the Minister's party's councillors have written to me. I have seen Government Ministers, Government TDs and Opposition TDs raise concerns. I have seen various concerns about the OPR's directions in local authorities. I know it is a separate process. We do not always like the outcomes of the board's processes or other processes but they are the processes. There is an element of suspicion about it. It is a body that is settling down. This periodic critical review may identify weaknesses and it may not but I believe it is important. Will the Minister confirm that, with his instruction as Minister, he will push ahead for that in the Department? I suggest that this body of work needs to happen in advance of the process being completed to feed into the next part, the Minister's initiative, the advisory board, which I welcome.