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

Yes, it is states, "inviting members of the public [...] not later than four weeks.” Here is the difficulty. Four weeks is a short period of time. We are not dealing with a standard planning application. We are dealing with things that can often be complex, both from a technical and scientific point of view. Many of us would have met with, for example, the National Inshore Fishermen's Association. The Minister of State is right that it was contacted and invited to a number of the consultations and participated in them. Its members told us, and I am sure they have conveyed the same to the Minister of State and his officials, they feel that their capacity is small, because it is a small organisation comprising fishermen. Their capacity to engage is more diminished than larger corporate organisations or various other bodies. Four weeks is therefore a short period of time for those organisations. They themselves have told us that they do not have the capacity or the technical expertise needed.

One could argue that they are members of larger organisations that represent wider sections of the fishing industry. While that is true, the Minister of State knows as well as I do that there are disagreements, tensions, and divergences of interests. Again, the National Inshore Fishermen's Association has stressed to us that it needs to be given the maximum opportunity to engage in this process.

I would ask the Minister of State to actively consider, between now and Report Stage, whether the length of time that has been provided for in section 5(5)(b)(iii) is sufficient. In addition, how does one ensure that those smaller organisations or communities are not just given a notional right to participate, but that their participation is genuine and meaningful, given their own self-declared limited technical and scientific resources?