Mr. Jack O'Sullivan:

Mr. Barrett has put the case perfectly and I agree 100% with what he just said. There is very little I can add except to say that this committee has the power and responsibility to look not only at the particular case which Mr. Barrett has put forward so eloquently and in such detail and at my own short paper, which provides some footnotes and other detail, but also at the context of the case. Why are these kinds of things happening vis-à-visplanning? It may be that the wider context is something that not many Oireachtas committees can look at but this committee has the power to do so. The committee could call witnesses from the NPWS, the Department and Westmeath County Council to see the wider picture and possibly make some recommendations that would close the loopholes and bring into the public arena a discussion on why these kinds of things are happening and how they can be, if not completely eliminated, at least decreased in number or prevented in the future to some extent. If the committee could do that, it would be a great service to the environment and to the people of Ireland.