asked the Minister for the Environment if he has set up any system whereby the energy consumption implications of a local development plan are costed or measured during the process of either formulating or devising a development plan as specified in the planning legislation.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Local Development Plans.
18.
The answer is in the negative but I would draw the Deputy's attention to the fact that the present procedures afford an opportunity to bodies like the ESB and the Dublin Gas Company as well as the Minister with overall responsibility for energy to make their views known when plans or variations are in draft form.
When a planning authority have prepared a draft of a proposed development plan or of proposed variations of a development plan they are obliged to put copies of the draft on public display for a period of at least three months and any objections or representations made to them during that period must be considered before the plan or variation is adopted. A copy of such a draft plan or draft variation to a plan must also be sent to various bodies and Ministers including the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy.
I am sorry for asking so many supplementaries. It is not my intention to delay the House.
The Deputy seems to be succeeding pretty well in doing that.
I assure the Chair, it is not my intention. I asked the Minister for the Environment if he has set up any system whereby the energy consumption implications of a local development plan are costed or measured. I am grateful for the information that the Minister has given regarding the process of planning and development, of which I am already aware. I wish to know if the Minister as the responsible Minister has set up a system. I would have thought that the answer would have been a simple yes or no.
If the Deputy was listening, the opening words of the reply are—The answer is in the negative.