Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Yes, I would like them too.

I have a real issue that is probably going under the radar. It relates to competency in EU law. There are five planning cases from Ireland at the Court of Justice at the moment and another three on the way. They all relate to the interpretation of the environmental impact assessment directive or the habitats directive. That is eight cases. It is quite an expensive situation for us. Why is the board's decision-making not able to give proper effect to EU law to avoid these scenarios? Has the board enough competency? Is there a deficiency in knowledge of EU law? Is there a requirement for training internally? This is seismic and is going to cost a lot of money. Dare I say it, many of these cases could be lost. Why is it happening so often? Is there a deficiency in capacity within the board? Why are these not being intercepted so the actual directives are being interpreted directly?