Mr. Philip Nugent:

I understand that, and, as I said, we are very conscious of the predicament in which the horticultural sector finds itself. Returning to my opening statement, from which Deputy Leddin quoted, the reason we have ended up in this situation is because of a history of non-compliance by commercial peat extractors. It is also important to state that we do not have responsibility for the planning system. Mr. Lucas may wish to speak about that matter.

The Deputy spoke about the possibility of replacing the dual consent regime with a single consent regime. We do not regard that as something that will accelerate this process at all. A new consent regime would require primary legislation, which obviously takes time to prepare and get through the Oireachtas. It would also require the introduction of new systems and processes in whatever statutory body was given responsibility for such a new system. Only at that point could the regularisation process commence, that is, the application for leave to apply for substitute consent. That would then be followed by the application for substitute consent and then the application for the prospective consent. It is also important to bear in mind that, as we have seen in recent years, the process is very likely to be challenged along the way, possibly at several stages. It is for this reason that we think that following the route of a single consent regime would not allow for an earlier resumption than would engagement with the current system.