Mr. John McCarthy:

I thank the Deputy. As the Deputy said the CEDRA report was launched by the Taoiseach earlier in the week. The comprehensive nature of the report is a great tribute to the chairman, Mr. Pat Spillane, and the members. As to where it will go from here, the Government will need to examine each of the recommendations in detail, to see how they can be advanced. From the Department's point of view, we will engage with other Departments as part of that process. As part of the next rural development programme, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will lead so far as EU funds are concerned. As we are responsible for the Leader programme we will be looking at CEDRA to see whether there are elements within it that we can take forward as part of that process. Following on from one of the points I made to Deputy James Bannon, given that local authorities are being conferred with a broader economic development co-ordination role we will look to the CEDRA report to see if there are elements where the local authority hand, so to speak, could be brought to bear to bring things together in a more cohesive and beneficial way so far as rural communities are concerned.

In terms of planning gain so far as wind development is concerned, Deputy Mulherin is correct in saying that up until now, in so far as the issue has been addressed, it has been on a case by case basis. I note the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources is looking at that issue as part of its renewable energy development policy. Rather than speak for that Department, it is an issue that should be taken up in that context, but we will continue to engage with it because the planning process is a critical part of it.