16.— (1) A housing authority shall prepare a draft of the housing services plan and shall send a copy of the draft housing services plan to—

(a) the Minister,

(b) every local authority whose administrative area adjoins F11[…] the administrative area of the authority preparing the draft plan,

(c) the Health Service Executive,

(d) approved bodies engaged in the provision of accommodation or shelter in the administrative area concerned,

(e) the homelessness consultative forum in its administrative area, or joint homelessness consultative forum, as the case may be,

(f) any local traveller accommodation consultative committee in the administrative area concerned appointed under section 21 of the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998, and

(g) such local community bodies in the administrative area concerned and any other person, as the housing authority considers appropriate.

(2) Written submissions or observations with respect to the draft housing services plan may be made by the persons specified in subsection (1) to the housing authority within 8 weeks from the date on which the draft plan is sent under subsection (1).

(3) Where the Minister considers that any draft housing services plan fails to adequately take account of any of the matters specified in section 15 (1), the Minister may, within the period specified in subsection (2), for stated reasons, direct the housing authority concerned to take specified measures to ensure that the housing services plan, when made, takes adequate account of those matters and the housing authority shall comply with any such direction.

(4) Not later than 4 weeks after the end of the period specified in subsection (2), the F12[chief executive] shall prepare and submit to the housing authority a report on—

(a) any submissions or observations made under subsection (2),

(b) the directions (if any) of the Minister under subsection (3) and the stated reasons for those directions, and

(c) any aspect of the draft housing services plan (other than aspects of the draft plan the subject of any ministerial direction under subsection (3)) that, in his or her opinion, fails to adequately take account of any of the matters specified in section 15 (1).

(5) The housing authority shall, having taken account of the directions of the Minister (if any) under subsection (3) and the F12[chief executive] under subsection (4), adopt the housing services plan, with or without modification, within 6 weeks after the submission of the F12[chief executive]’s report.

(6) The housing authority shall—

(a) give a copy of the housing services plan to the Minister as soon as practicable after it is adopted,

(b) make the housing services plan available for inspection on request by any person, without charge, at its offices and such other places as it considers appropriate, during normal office hours,

(c) on request by any person, provide a copy of the housing services plan at a price not exceeding the reasonable cost of reproduction, and

(d) publish and maintain a copy of the housing services plan on the Internet for the period of the plan.