Ms Lorraine O'Donoghue:

Yes. Marine spatial planning, as I said in my opening statement, is something of which we are acutely aware. MSP as a concept is relatively new. Much work has been undertaken by a number of Departments on the task force mentioned, of which I am a member. I am not the authority on marine spatial planning but I have learned much about it in the past year or so. It is extremely complex and if we are to do it, there is a need to get it right. At a minimum, two years would be required to develop a national plan with a view to regional plans being developed at regional level thereafter. That is a best estimate. Again, it is an area that Ireland is new to and we will have to continue seeking extra expertise and looking at what is happening elsewhere in the EU before those timelines become clearer.

In regard to the concept of the nearshore area and the division of the function between local authorities and An Bord Pleanála, some 80% of applications on hand relate to the nearshore area. That is just a snapshot of the applications on hand. We are in the process of meeting the local authorities on a regional basis. We were in Carrick-on-Shannon a couple of weeks ago and met Mayo, Leitrim and other local authorities in the area. More recently, we met local authorities in the southern region and a meeting is scheduled for local authorities on the eastern side of the country. The consistent message we are getting is that they are willing and have the full capacity to take on developments more so than is proposed in the general scheme. It is an issue we have undertaken to look at in consultation with some of the statutory stakeholders in the process. The message from the coastal local authorities is consistent.