Derek Nolan (Galway West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This certainly is a very important issue for the petitioner, Ms Halpin, who as far as I can see from the petition, has put a lot of work into it. From what I can discern, she was seeking to have withdrawn a foreshore licence or to challenge the manner in which it was granted. I understand from the secretariat, which has worked on this petition, that the licence in question has been surrendered and, consequently, the exact issue has been remedied. However, there is also an issue here in respect of the planning process and how consultation can happen very subtly and often without public involvement, which contradicts the entire concept of public consultation. This issue was raised with the joint committee approximately two weeks ago in respect of a planning application for wind farms in Moycullen, west County Galway, and at that time, members agreed to examine the issue of public consultation in the planning process. That element of the petition under discussion could be linked with the earlier petition and the two could run side-by-side.