Mr. Ciaran Ó hÓbáin:

I will not try to imagine what was in the Commissioner's mind when he addressed the committee, but it would be fair to see it as adopting a precautionary approach, which is consistent with Ireland's approach. If we do nothing for a period, we will potentially be in the same place we are in now. Ireland is doing something positive to address the science needed to underpin a decision. We recognise that if an application is made for an exploration licence, it will have to be evaluated under the existing framework. There is a gap, however, in terms of the science and we want to address it.

I will leave it to the EPA to outline a timetable for research, but before a decision could be made by the Minister on an application for an exploration licence, there would have to be EPA research and time to consider the findings followed by an eight to 12 month process of evaluation under the EIA directive.