Mr. Conor Dowling-Linehan:

I want to make a point on the planning aspect and why planning laws are important. If anything, with the recent mica and pyrite scandals we have seen the need for tough legislation on how constructions are built. If a development is built without planning permission we do not know what run-off is going into the water or what environment is destroyed because essentially there are no regulations. Under the current situation, if people go through the process of getting appropriate assessments and environmental impact assessments there will be an extra three to four years without the business there would have been with the development.

Therefore, they are losing a lot. If it is seen to be more beneficial not to bother with the planning enforcements, not follow any regulations and essentially get away with it, that would create a culture where this happens along the length of the river. The River Shannon has experienced pollution in many other areas before and it is under considerable threat. From an environmental standpoint allowing developers to build without planning permission with run-off or damage to the riverbed could have enormous effects on the Shannon and for everybody who lives adjacent to the Shannon.

So many different local authorities and statutory bodies have management over the Shannon that essentially we do not know how common this is along the length of the river. It is not about stopping people developing. It is not even about stopping this particular development. It is just about stopping future developments from flouting environmental laws and building without planning permission with unknown damage being done to the river as a result. It is also unfair on people who follow the regulations.