Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I have an additional question on section 18(1), which states "The competent authority (M) shall, as soon as is practicable after section 17(2)(a) or (3)(a), as appropriate, applies following a review referred to in that section and for the purposes of ensuring compliance with Article 9 of the MSP Directive, prepare and publish" the public participation statement. Sections 17(2)(a) and 17(3)(a) indicate "The Minister shall, not later than six years after" when referring to the existing national marine planning framework or a marine spatial plan. What does that mean in terms of timing for this public participation statement? Does it mean that, potentially, there would be no public participation statement for a period of six years? Is that what the proposed legislation implies? If it is, this section is completely reliant on the public participation statement and there is a potential delay of six years. Will the Minister of State explain the timing on this or is there a different way of reading the section so it does not potentially allow for a six-year delay before there is a public participation statement? The entire section of the Bill rests on that public participation statement. Are we talking about a potential six-year delay in this?