Mr. Colin Ryan:

Similarly, I cannot comment on individual cases. Senator Cummins asked a question about the environmental impact assessment report, EIAR. The European annexes set out the uses that require an EIAR. If you do not fall within it then you are outside of that regime. That is not to say that you should not come together with one application. People make decisions in terms of making planning applications in their own interests. The planning authority is faced with having to make that decision on valid applications that are put before it. As Ms Graham said, there are issues regarding project splitting, and without going into detail, that can present itself over time. There is case law in that regard. It relates to EIAR applications as opposed to individual applications. You could make an application for one house today, then another house beside it and another house further down the street, so to speak. The planning authority makes the decision to validate the application in accordance with the regulations and the Act. If it is faced with a planning application today, it must deal with it, for better or worse, and make a decision. If a similar application comes in the next day in the field next door then it has to make a decision on that as well. It must decide on the individual applications before it. I do not know if that helps.