Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I have said, this application is under consideration at the moment. I do not intend to debate the intricacies or details of this or any other application. The questions asked by Deputy McGrath must be answered in a very thorough way as part of that process, and they will be. I refer, for example, to the questions that have been asked about the engineering specifications that are required to deal with certain weather conditions. The farm on Clare Island, for example, has passed all the tests the weather has thrown up in recent months. Likewise, issues like pollution and tourism will be considered as part of this application. If all of these questions are not answered comprehensively, I will not grant a licence. If I decide to grant a licence, the appeals process will test the system all over again. That is why we have a system in place. We need to trust that system to make appropriate decisions on applications like this one.

See this speech in context