Dr. Ciarán O'Keeffe:

When the habitats directive was introduced, that base information was not available so it had to be collected. There are different levels of complexity in terms of the information one needs. The first step was a national survey, called BioMar, which was carried out in the 1990s and it identified those areas with the richest biodiversity which fell within the parameters of the Habitats Directive as the best sites. That study identified bays, areas of coastline and so forth. However, when it comes down to an individual wanting to set up an operation in a very specific location, the question arises as to whether we have sufficiently detailed data to make an informed decision in the context of the European Court case. That was not the case so substantial additional work had to be carried out in order to enable an informed and legally satisfactory decision on a licence application. Deputy Pringle is correct that, having been through the hoops in the European Court, the burden was onerous in terms of the quality of the work that was required, which has made life more difficult than it would have been had we passed under the radar.