Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

This is an interim measure and it will be repealed when the substantial minerals development Bill is enacted. It will be important to incorporate the experience gleaned from this interim measure and other similar measures. Deputy Broughan raised the point about the stakeholders in the community wherever a sensitive location like this exists. That can vary from time to time and from place to place and the emphasis may be greater or lesser as the case may be. In the last few days there has been strong opposition from the people of California to the siting of refineries offshore. There has currently been a debate in this country on whether such a refinery should be onshore or offshore. The experience to be gained from this is important.

Preliminary discussions need to encompass the full scope of likely eventualities. It is virtually impossible to anticipate everything, but we have arrived at a junction whereby it is incumbent on everybody involved in the provision of facilities of this nature to dot the i's and cross the t's and to ensure the negotiations provided for within the law take place beforehand. The experience gained from this interim measure should be used to good advantage in any negotiations in the future.

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