Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply, although I appreciate that it is constrained due to the active nature of the application. I appreciate that the Minister cannot comment on the ins and outs of the application. Unfortunately, however, there is widespread concern in the locality about this matter. The responses to the queries pertaining to the application from BIM should be published. All the information should be put out there to enable everybody who has a genuine concern about the possible impact of such a large-scale project, including the IFI, local angling groups and those involved in tourism, to air their views. If they had that information as well as all the responses, they would be better able to judge whether all the facts were there and, if so, whether they were correct.

BIM states that 90% of salmon smolts from river catchments travel along the coastline up to the North Atlantic, yet local angling groups and the IFI state that 90% of the same salmon smolts swim deep into Galway Bay. Which piece of advice is the correct one? Facts should be indisputable but unfortunately we are getting two sets of facts. We need to know which is correct before any decision is made. It is imperative that all the scientific data is available so that it can be fully assessed. Before a decision is made, people should be confident that everything can be examined in a transparent manner.

See this speech in context