Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses. A lot of my questions, particularly those about public consultation, have been answered. We all believe public consultation is important. In what way has Covid affected the Departments? We have seen for nearly a year now that in local authorities all the planning meetings have been cancelled and things have been going online, so there has been a huge delay in the past few months. Do the witnesses feel this might have had an effect?

We need clarity on the timelines needed in the Bill in order that projects can plan with certainty. It is all about timescales now. This legislation is so important and so needed. Are greater resources being provided to put the administrative functions in place? Is there any update on that?

Enforcement is another matter I have been asking about and was going to ask the witnesses about. I see that the challenges are forward planning, development, management and enforcement. Those are huge challenges. One of our witnesses spoke about community and community funding. That will be welcome because it is so important that our communities are involved in this.

I also welcome the fact that there are targets for 2020 and 2030 and more projects, particularly on the east coast. All of us have to play our part in our environment. This is creating jobs. Timescale is important. All of us are doing what we can to support this legislation. I thank the witnesses. A lot of my questions, as I said, have been asked.