Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response. Unfortunately, it was the response we expected. Interestingly, he outlined a long list of agencies and acronyms that are getting involved now. Where were they during the planning stage? I would be interested in knowing that. I would also be interested in knowing what communications Donegal County Council had with the developer prior to what happened.

There is a simple thing that we can do. He who pays the piper calls the tune. The developer got all of the surveys done. He paid for them to be done. I have yet to see an environmental impact statement that said the development should not proceed or should only proceed if significant safety procedures were put in place. If I was paying for it, no one would tell me that I had to do that. What we can do is decide that a developer should pay a local council to conduct environmental studies. Perhaps then we will see real change.

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