Ms Aoife MacEvilly:

We are fully aware of the concerns expressed by Deputies and Senators today. We have heard real concerns over the local impact and it was a very difficult decision to take for the commission, even though the advice is clear and the process is very black and white. We knew the impact the decision could have locally. We have to come here to give technical, financial and engineering explanations but this is the nature of the role we have been given. We are doing it to the best of our ability because the public interest is key. I hear the suggestion that there is no openness in the process and we considered this point when we looked at this case. We provided a response to the applicant relating to the certification, detailing the rationale for the partial certificate. I appreciate that somebody who is not immersed in the technicalities and the legal basis of this might not find it clear but we hope it provided some clarity to the applicant.

In the course of this process, we have considered whether we should or could publish more on the applications we receive, as the EPA does. Our initial concern was that the financial information would be commercially sensitive and that there might also be competition issues but there may be a way of redacting the information and if the committee is giving us feedback to the effect that we should have more openness and transparency around the process, we could certainly take it on board. We want to improve on that aspect if we can.