Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)

The EPA. An Bord Pleanála was set up by the State. I got a message the other day from a guy I know in the west who employs 200 people.

Howya Fitz? Eighteen months now and we are still waiting for planning. €3 million spent before that. €3 million to spend. Someone else called last week from An Bord Pleanála to have another walk around. Business doesn't wait, Fitz. We have worked in specialised manufacturing, in pharmaceuticals and in microchips. We are now in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. 200 people employed, 40 more jobs to be created. I am fed up of State agencies. Denmark want us to move production with a building straight away, no objections. They appreciate business. Sad to say, but we have always tried to make sure we create jobs in Ireland. It's a sad thing to say, Fitz, that we may have to move.

"The system," he said, is "f" and it ended with "d". I would use the word "broken". That is the word of a person who is creating jobs in this country. That is An Bord Pleanála, ABP. The State is also responsible for the EPA. A few months ago, I saw George Lee talking about peat being extracted illegally. A person went through one county and we will have a report next week to show that with regard to everything on one county, misinformation was given out. At the moment the EPA is talking about farmers. At the moment, outside every water treatment plant, where the water is exiting, there are enough videos done by ordinary people right around this country to show what is coming out at the exit. Why are there not analytics or basic information they can put there to know the flow and the type of stuff coming out?

These are two agencies set up by different Governments - not the current Government but different Governments. These are two agencies that are failing people in this country.

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