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

Strictly speaking, the Minister of State's response is correct in that if we really want to make these changes, there is other legislation in which we should make them. In addition, there is a review of the freedom of information legislation and changes are being made to the Regulation of Lobbying Act.

I am aware that the Minister of State will not support this amendment. I would make an appeal to the him, however. I really want to emphasise what it is we are trying to achieve and for the Minister of State to think about it and chat to his officials about it. When this Bill is passed and we start going through the consents, the licensing and the planning applications, particularly for large offshore wind projects, none of us want this to happen in the context of any public perception that decisions are being made behind closed doors and outside of the formal public consultations. It would be really helpful for those who want to see the maximum volume of foreshore wind energy to meet a renewable energy targets in an environmentally sustainable way. I am not at all suggesting that the Minister of State, his officials or any of the planning authorities would do that. This is about going that extra mile to demonstrate absolute transparency. Sure, the Minister of State can say that this is really a matter for the Regulation of Lobbying Act but, notwithstanding that, I believe this is an opportunity for him to find a way to ensure that when these policy statements are being developed, we are going to let the public know about anybody who engages with us.

That means anybody, by the way. It could be me, it could be Deputy Cian O'Callaghan or it could be the Chairman. Given the volumes of public and private money that are eventually going to flow through the system, the maximum transparency possible would be very welcome. On that basis, I would be keen to press this amendment.