Ms Caitriona Nic Aonghusa:

We are planning for the update of the data on a regular basis. Some datasets will need more regular updates than others. We have gone through a process of identifying the various datasets that will be in the tool and identifying how often they will need to be updated. From the institute's perspective, data quality is fundamental and we have been developing processes to ensure that the data are robust and reliable, that we can stand over them and that they can be used for evidence like that. There are some data that will not need to be updated too often but there are others, like those the Chairman referred to, which are to be provided to the Department and which will need more regular updates. We have those systems in place.

Live monitoring is something the institution already does more broadly, for example for wave conditions and water quality. We get data from the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, and we put its data online. The EPA also has an online system, I think it is beaches.ie, where it makes the data on water quality available in close to real time. That is something that can be done if it is seen as needed down the road. It will not be part of the first phase of the development of any tools or anything like that but it is something we could look at.