Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State for outlining where we are in terms of progress. Lessons should be learned from this application and I hope the Minister and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government will take on board the view that where schemes are to be grouped, the question whether foreshore licences for individual applicants are required should be examined. If there is to be such a requirement, that inevitably will delay other applications which may not need them. I would be obliged if the Minister were to take that on board for the faster delivery of schemes in the future. In this case, it has taken five to ten years for delivery, from start to finish, which is unacceptable in this day and age. The Department and its officials should be doing everything possible to ensure schemes are advanced as quickly as possible.