Mr. Jack O'Sullivan:

I am not aware of any marinas in that situation, but I am aware that quite a number of quarries have not got proper planning permission. To me, a quarry is utilising a resource owned by the people of Ireland, that is, our soil and rock. Whatever Constitution we have — I like our Constitution — it should be stronger in connection with the fact that the soil and rock of Ireland are owned by the people of Ireland, held in trust for us, the people, by the State. If somebody can dig up rock and gather a lot of money by doing that, while not paying anything to the State and not having planning permission, it constitutes a very similar situation to the one in question.

Another quite similar situation, which comprises an important issue in the midlands, involves a number of companies — I will not name them for obvious reasons — that have been removing peat in huge quantities over many years without planning permission from the planning authority or a licence from the EPA. In so doing, they are polluting a river. I will not name the river because that would give too much away. In the case I am referring to, the EPA attempted to take a court case against one or more of the companies and failed to do so. Something went wrong. I do not know how because I was not part of the case. I sometimes wish the EPA would ask people outside it for assistance. We would happily give it to it. In the case in question, all I know is that the court case failed. That was a pity because the pollution continues.

We heard about the county council going after a particular developer. In the pleadings, motion or description of the development, some very simple mistakes were made and, as a result, the case fell. I know from writing these kinds of things that one has to be absolutely correct. If there is a word wrong, a barrister on the other side will jump in and the case might be lost over it. We call it a technicality but, very simply, it means a mistake.