Mr. Pat Keating:

The Shannon Estuary is probably one of the most industrialised areas in Ireland, relatively speaking anyway. If one looks across the estuary, there is power generation and a lot of large-scale manufacturing activities as well. Obviously, it adds an extra layer of complexity. It is important to note that it is not an either-or situation as regards the habitat directives. What the directives promote is a sustainable approach to development. EU maritime policy recognises the importance of ports and the positioning of ports across Europe that happen to be in sensitive ecological areas. It does add an extra level of complexity but by no means do the designations preclude development.

The port has had recent planning applications in respect of the estuary. A multitude of planning applications in sensitive environmental areas across Europe have been granted. One takeaway from that is that one can develop in an environmentally sensitive area as long as it is done in accordance with the various requirements. We looked at that in the context of our master plan. The areas we identified in our master plan have already been subject to significant environmental screening. For example, the Shannon Estuary integrated framework plan was completed in 2013. A great deal of environmental-type work, assessing the cumulative effect, etc, was done in respect of that plan. We are looking at sites that have been zoned because of their proximity to deep water but that are the least interfering from an environmental perspective as well.