Mr. Feargal Ó Coigligh:

We must go back and look at the directive, which requires prior authorisation. That means giving an authorisation to an abstraction before it happens. There are obligations in the directive that relate to giving consent prior to something happening so that is different from something that already exists. That is why there are different rules. In terms of the issues that are considered, while there might be an overlap between environmental impact assessment and the kind of issues under which the existing licences would be viewed, environmental impact assessment has its own very particular legal framework that must be met. That is why they would be distinguished.