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

It is good we are all good-humoured in this committee. I can picture the Minister of State's overworked and underpaid officials late last night writing the briefing notes and having a little smile as they added that particular line. We appreciate the humour, and I mean that genuinely.

I accept one year is too short but I also accept six years is too long. Would the Minister of State consider, by way of an amendment on Report Stage, slightly shortening the time? That would still give the Minister of State the flexibility to have it sooner rather than later. All I am asking the Minister of State is to go away and think. Six years sounds impossibly long.

With respect to the question regarding the marine protected areas, the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, will not be able to answer the question that I asked the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, because it is not related to the marine protected areas legislation. It is specifically related to the national marine planning framework. I could be wrong, but changes to the national marine planning framework will only be possible consequent to the review, which could be sooner than six years but could be within that timeframe. If marine protected areas, MPAs, are introduced before there is the review, what is the mechanism in this legislation to incorporate those MPAs into the national marine planning framework so that when, for example, a marine spatial plan is being developed and there is a consequent public participation statement governing public participation they would be required to take into account that MPA designation, which does not currently exist? It is a reasonable question.