Mr. Brian Lucas:

By way of background, as I have said already, the planning and development regulations as regards exempt development and peat extraction have been in place since 2001. The provisions in the Planning and Development Act 2000 as regards environmental impact assessments and appropriate assessments have been in place since 2011. The regulations have been in place since 2001 and the Planning and Development Act provisions have been in place since 2011. Each provision has to be looked at separately. You have to ask yourself whether the exempt development provisions apply. You are looking at whether it is a new or extended area of less than 10 ha or a new or extended area of 10 ha or more where the drainage of the bogland commenced prior to 21 January 2002. You would then need to carry out an environmental impact assessment screening and an appropriate assessment screening. If these show that no environmental impact assessment or appropriate assessment is required, an application can be made under section 5 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 for a declaration to the planning authority that it is exempt development. As I said earlier, however, if a new or extended area of 30 ha or more is involved, an environmental impact assessment and planning permission are automatically required. The applicant would have to apply to the planning authority for planning permission. If the area involved is greater than 50 ha, planning permission and an integrated pollution control licence from the EPA are required. The law has been there for quite a while. There is no ban on peat extraction. The type of peat extraction you engage in does not matter. The law is the same across the board. I have tried to summarise the various legislative provisions. I believe I have answered the question Deputy Fitzmaurice asked.