Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I echo some of the sentiments expressed in respect of to the marine spatial planning framework. The Taoiseach said it has been in development for four years, but nobody has consulted the inshore fisheries community and, as Deputy Ó Broin said, there has been no proper scrutiny of it. The fisheries community and all of us acknowledge the importance of wind energy. What the community wants is to be consulted. At present, we are only in the site investigation stage and inshore fishermen have been severely impacted in terms of their incomes and the future of the sector. They have yet to be consulted, so 45 minutes for a debate is, quite simply, ridiculous. If it has to be passed in the first quarter of this year, as the Taoiseach said, why did the Government wait and allow blatant avoidance of scrutiny ?

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