Deputy Peter Burke:

Amendment No. 184 seeks to delete provisions that would enable MARA to stay proceedings to conclude any outstanding matters. This provision is required in circumstances where MARA may not have concluded a process and a judicial challenge is taken. In essence, the provision is to allow MARA to finish its process.

Amendment No.185 seeks to extend from eight weeks to 12 weeks the period where persons can apply for leave to judicially challenge a decision. Eight weeks is the standard period for non-environmental decisions. These provisions are for the MAC which is not an environmental decision. Section 103(6) provides for judicial discretion to extend that period

Amendment No. 186 seeks to apply the environmental decision-making standards for leave to apply for judicial review to a non-environmental decision-making process. ENGOs are not debarred from judicial challenges but will have to make a case to the courts for standing in a particular case, as would be the case for a non-environmental decision.

For the aforementioned reasons, I oppose amendments Nos. 184 to 186, inclusive.