Dr. Peter Heffernan:

The original lease applied for was for ten years, and at that time an environmental impact statement, EIS, was not required by the licensing authority, but all our applications are done in line with the application requirements at the time. I can say with full assurance that the protection of the marine environment is at the very core of what the Marine Institute is about.

The question on our science is a very good one in the context of raw or basic science and the potential to commercialise. The science we undertake ourselves is very much focused on the services we provide which are very much at the interface of the governance of resource development, its sustainability and supporting its sustainable development. We focus on the science the Marine Institute competes for to be in that arena. We fund science that runs the spectrum of basic through to applied and very much understand that one has to speculate to a degree in creating knowledge to get an impact.

In reference to the arena of ocean energy development, the biggest mistake for a State agency would be to predict the winner. Our role is to be part of integrated opportunity creation in Ireland in order that those who have the brains, drive and innovation, primarily in the private sector, to go after an idea have the machinery to facilitate testing and demonstration to allow them to break it, make it better and compete. We would be competing in what is very much a global marketplace. We have the challenge in Ireland to create the environment where people can sustainably harvest that energy potential and be the people who create the intellectual property, companies, businesses and employment and who make the sustainable and green energy available. We can be at every facet of that business chain or we can be the guys bringing the sandwiches out to the international experts who have done it and the international companies who own it. I know which side of the equation I want Ireland to be on and that is why we are trying to play that role.

On dioxin levels, through our advanced chemistry programmes the institute is part of the national testing and screening both in the environment and in food products.

We have research initiatives of varying scales, both partnering in Europe and funded nationally, that get behind the science capacity.

In biotoxins, the Deputy raised a point which brings together much of what I said earlier. These are naturally occurring "red tides" which are driven by natural ocean forces. We are involved in predictive systems working with shellfish farmers all over the country over the years investing in both the nationally funded and EU funded programmes that are progressively increasing our ability to predict. The ideal scenario is that the farmer gets advice that the next three or four days or week, for example, are looking bad and if the farmer can get the product out of the water body, he or she can still get it on the market. We work with BIM and the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority in the system. It is added value research. During the past 20 years, we have availed of partnerships with Canada, the US and Europe in building up the capacity. I like to think we are at the cutting edge of it. I think I addressed all nine of Deputy Pringle's questions.