Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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I do not mean to disrespect the Chair with this comment.

I want to follow up with the Minister of State in relation to two aspects of amendments Nos. 38 and 39. I raised compliance with the Aarhus Convention. The Minister of State said that there has to be public participation as part of any SEA process. We know that, but Aarhus compliance goes way beyond an SEA process. There is meant to be public participation, not just in terms of the SEA process. Amendment No. 39 states that there would effective public participation at an appropriate stage. This is going beyond SEA processes and would ensure compliance with the Aarhus Convention. Will the Minister of State address this? The SEA process alone is not enough to ensure compliance with the Aarhus Convention so this amendment seeks to ensure compliance in a broader sense. If the Minister of State is not accepting the amendment, how will compliance with the Aarhus Convention be ensured with respect to regulations?

I have to agree with the point about technical documents. I find that the more technical documents are, the more public consultation is needed. Technical documents can be very complex. What is thrown up in public consultation on complex technical documents can be very valuable when there is input from other people with expertise in the area. Surely if regulations are technical, the more technical they are, the more we need public participation. There is really nothing to be lost from getting input. If it is completely off the mark, it can be disregarded. However, if it is relevant and throws up weaknesses or issues, it gives an opportunity to improve the regulations. Why would we not include amendment No. 39 in the legislation to ensure effective public participation?