Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

I am surprised that this question was not answered by the Minister of State, Deputy Conor Lenihan; perhaps he is away on other business. The Minister of State has made the introduction of geothermal legislation a priority. He certainly talked the talk when he attended a meeting of the Oireachtas committee. There is considerable disappointment now because developers who want to engage in this kind of exploration and develop a renewable resource had felt some optimism following what the Minister of State had said. However, it now seems it is all back to some kind of commitment that it will happen at some time in the future. Is the Minister, Deputy Ryan, now again responsible for geothermal legislation?

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