Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Do we know the number of abstractions and the volume of water abstracted? If we know those, what percentage of the number and of the volume of water will be covered by the registration and the licensing regime?

I have a concern over the cumulative impact. As far as I understand it, it is not possible to assess, particularly if there is a significant impact, the cumulative impact of those abstractions under 250 cu. m because it is not recorded. There might be ten or 20 abstractions of less than 250 cu. m. How do we assess whether it is significant and its impact on the water table?

I think both of us forgot about a question I asked earlier about the role of the Minister in granting licences and applying conditions on registrations.

Can Mr. Ó Coigligh explain why we are involving a Minister rather than an independent body such as the EPA-----