Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

The Senator should bear with me. If these withered on 31 December and the applicants still wanted planning permission, they would have to renegotiate those permissions with the 20% provision. That would have been the fastest way to do it rather than obtaining the legal imprimatur, having it tested through the courts, etc., and then arriving at the point where the applicants would have to re-apply for planning permission.

The fastest way to achieve what the Senator wants would have been to allow them to wither. The problem I had with that was clearly the supply; that was the fundamental issue. I also wanted to see if there was any way I could obtain a community gain out of this without interrupting supply. They were the issues with which I had to deal. I agree with the Senator's point about trying to have the full imprimatur of Part V applied to the permissions. The fastest way to do that would have been to allow them to wither and then move on.