A few weeks ago I stood here and highlighted the fact that whilst An Coimisiún Pleanála has much expertise in the realm of planning, it has no in-house expertise when it comes to aviation. I flagged that here in the Dáil and an upshot of that in the days that followed was we were notified that Sagentia, a British company, has been taken on as an independent consultant. Why is it that the Irish Aviation Authority, the taxpayer-funded State body for aviation safety on D'Olier Street, is being overlooked and undermined by An Coimisiún Pleanála? It is the authority for air safety in this country. I have asked An Coimisiún Pleanála this and await a response. I want to know what was the cost, due diligence and procurement process and whether there were any conflicts of interest. This needs to be laid bare because we have a State body. Why should we go outside the country and take on private contractors? Why would we overlook the HSE or any State body? Why would we overlook the Irish Aviation Authority when it raises red flags for aviation concern? Why would we go beyond our jurisdiction and pay a lot of taxpayer money to bring in a private contractor?

I thank Deputy Crowe. I am not familiar with the contribution he made a few weeks ago but what I would say is An Coimisiún Pleanála is independent in its functions and around its assessment and evaluation of planning considerations and decisions. I do not know the direct circumstances the Deputy has referenced, but there may be difficulty in taking someone out of the Irish Aviation Authority and bringing them into An Coimisiún Pleanála if it is doing an independent evaluation or assessment of a particular planning matter. The priority we have in the context of investing in public services is to support recruitment across our public service. That is reflected across our agencies, regulators and Departments in building expertise and that is reflected in the growth of public sector numbers in recent years. There may be a particular case where contracts have to be entered into if temporary expertise is required in a particular regulator or agency for a temporary period. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Browne, to assess what the Deputy has said, respecting the fact An Coimisún Pleanála has to operate independently and separately to all of us to uphold the integrity of the planning system.