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

I acknowledge that the Minister of State's officials will say including a list of prescribed bodies in the definitions could be described as an innovation, to be generous about it, but there is genuine concern among the public regarding the environmental and biodiversity implications of everything that will happen in our marine in the coming decades. I suspect the Minister of State will break the bad news to us shortly that he will not accept the amendment. Nevertheless, it would be good if, elsewhere in the legislation, the Government made clear that in all aspects of the work of the various bodies and processes outlined in the Bill, whether regarding licensing, consent, planning or policy, the organisations listed in the amendment will, along with others, be central to everything that happens. This could be stated in the regulations that will come at a later stage after the Bill has been enacted or elsewhere within the Bill.

We reflected quite a bit in pre-legislative scrutiny on the challenges, again to be generous about it, with strategic housing developments, for example, and the fear many organisations had that they were not being adequately involved in the process. That led to greater disagreements regarding proposals, judicial reviews and so on, and we want to avoid all that. If the Government were to give a clear statement of intent that these, along with others, are precisely the kinds of organisations it would like to have a central role at all the appropriate points, that would go some way to reassuring us on it.

I presume there will be a later stage where regulations will prescribe the specific organisations. I am just making my proposals. I presume there will be a point post the passing of the legislation where, by way of regulations, the Minister of State will list the prescribed organisations specific to the marine area. Could he tell us if we will be surprised to see any of these organisations not on that list, if he has had discussions on that, or how would it ordinarily transpire?