Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On the basis of the potential inconsistency between the two directives, as highlighted by the Minister of State, I am quite happy to withdraw this amendment. I ask the officials to look again at the issue of the definition and its legal standing. The only reason I might pursue this matter is that for a very long time, as I understand it, when we were talking about environmental protection inside or outside the marine area, we tended to list individual geographical locations, species or whatever. The great value of putting an ecosystems-based approach at the heart of everything we are doing is that it is a systems-based approach. Everything and how it interrelates with everything else becomes fundamental. It seems to me that because this is planning legislation, things may get challenged legally at some point in the future. Let us hope not. Let us hope that the legislation is robust and that decisions are made in accordance with the best interests of all affected parties. The greater the legal clarity on some of these issues, the better. I would appreciate if the officials could undertake to look at this and to advise the Minister of State whether something is required on Report Stage.