42. Section 246 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 is amended by inserting the following new subsection after subsection (1):

“(1A) Regulations under subsection (1) shall not apply to the making of a submission or observation to a planning authority, respecting an application for permission referred to in paragraph (a) of that subsection, where the person by whom the submission or observation is made is an elected member of the planning authority concerned.”.