Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

What has changed is that there is a different licensing regime, because we now have a 20-year licence and different structure for it in that we are setting up an independent regulator.

That is something I was going to go back to because Deputy McDonald threw in the point that it fundamentally altered the situation. Again had I brought in a provision such as: "the Minister having this responsibility ", I think there would be all sorts of criticisms. The way we regulate most things whether it is the energy or the transport sectors is by way of an independent statutory regulator.