Mr. Brian Lucas:

We have a legislative framework in place in accordance with EU law. The Minister of State outlined this in his opening statement and I have outlined it in previous meetings with the committee. This legislation has been in place since 2011 under the Planning and Development Act 2000, so it is not new legislation. With regard to the legislative bind we are in, we have to have a system in place that allows for environmental impact assessment and appropriate assessment.

Deputy Fitzmaurice referred to the work we did regarding raised bogs and relocation to non-designated bogs. In those cases, we would have done environmental impact assessment screening for appropriate assessment and full environmental impact assessments, as necessary. With regard to the work we did on the raised bogs, we used the existing legislation that is already in place under the Planning and Development Act. One of the difficulties with regard to the bind the industry finds itself in is that an environmental impact assessment is compulsory on sites of 30 ha and greater. Once that is the case, you are into the area of planning permission. The law is in place and has been since 2011, so it is not new legislation.

As I said earlier, at the previous meeting with the committee, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications indicated that legislating for a new single consent system that would also properly respect the environmental impact assessment directive and provide for a substitute consent process would not deliver decisions any more quickly than the existing dual consent system. When I was before the committee in July, I also referred to a provision in section 172(3) of the Planning Development Act 2000 which transposes Article 2(4) of the environmental impact assessment directive. This provides for limited exemptions to the full requirements of the directive. A request for such an exemption would have to be made to An Bord Pleanála by an applicant for planning permission or a person intending to apply for planning permission. I believe I have covered those points.