Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Will Mr. Collins answer the other question, please? I am not trying to be provocative but I would like an answer to why, for example, the lease undertaking application of Island Expro, which discovered gas in 2007 during the Schull discovery, has been under consideration since 2011, which is seven years. Why is it taking so long? In the course of that seven years, will that company have tenancy or ownership of that section offshore, so that nobody else can go in, touch it, explore it or ask any questions. That case is almost seven years and others have been almost longer. Decisions on undertakings of lease applications have taken so long. Is taking so long convenient for the companies and the Department?