Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The proposed new section to the principal Act states: "The Minister shall continue to conduct and complete the review" and in my amendment I propose that the Minister can carry out other reviews. The proposed new section states the first thing the Minister must do is carry out a review and it outlines the purposes of the review that would be carried out if it extended not only to blanket bogs but to any other natural heritage area. It further states: "The Minister shall, in relation to the effects on the environment of the proposals arising from the review...". Therefore, it states the Minister must carry out a review, that he or she must take all these matters into account in terms of the environment and it also sets out who he or she must notify. Exactly the same process would apply to other natural heritage areas, NHAs, as the Minister is proposing for raised bog NHAs. Therefore, she could not willy-nilly remove areas because huge safeguards are enshrined in the law to ensure this cannot be done overnight and that if it were to be done good process would have to followed. I cannot understand why what is good for goose is not good for the gander in this respect. Therefore, I am pressing the amendment.