Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

I appreciate the Senator's arguments on the issue of thresholds but I think it is unwise at the outset of a new consent process to lower the thresholds down to the extent he proposed. For example, to take the thresholds for windfarms down from 50 to ten would cause difficulties.

I have given consideration to these amendments but on reflection I must conclude that the proposed thresholds are wise and prudent. We do not wish the new consent process to be overwhelmed with relatively small-scale projects, even though, as the Senator has indicated, they may be of importance locally. They should still be dealt with through the planning process.

The ElA thresholds used in the text as the general threshold appear to be the most appropriate to ensure the process is used exclusively for large-scale strategic infrastructure development. If we go below that level we will leave ourselves open to all sorts of ambiguity. However, once the system has been in operation for some time, we could well reflect on the experience and see if it is necessary to review the thresholds.

I regret I cannot accept the amendments, although I did give them a great deal of consideration because the arguments put forward by Senator Bannon were cogent. I hope he will agree, notwithstanding the good intentions of his amendments, that accepting them could result in overloading the system at an early stage, in addition to causing a great deal of unnecessary controversy around what is intended to deal with bottlenecks in strategic infrastructure.

Question, "That the words proposed to be deleted stand", put and declared carried.