Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State knows quite well that we are not talking about typos and that our concern is that guidelines which could have a real, substantial and material impact should be subject to a requirement for public consultation. It is a similar idea with directives. I am looking at this stuff and trying to get my head around it. There are some people watching this and trying to get their heads around it. It would be useful for the Minister of State to give some examples of what these cases might be. What would a policy statement, guideline or directive look like? That is so we can understand exactly what we are talking about.

It seems that guidelines are pretty important and that a directive is also pretty important. If they are going to have a substantial impact on marine planning and development, it is absolutely reasonable to ensure the public can have its say. That should not in any way take us outside compliance with directives and other elements that protect the marine environment and public interest.