Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will just give my views for the record. I do not expect the Minister of State to respond directly. The project seems to be going ahead in a very similar format to what was proposed before the intergovernmental negotiations broke down. It seems to be the case that the Government hopes the intergovernmental negotiations will restart and that an agreement can be achieved. It appears to me that the company is hedging its bets and applying for planning permission so that it will be ready to roll if and when an intergovernmental agreement to export energy is signed.
The situation has already created serious cynicism. The application was made to An Bord Pleanála a week after the local elections. I raised the matter on local radio on Tuesday. No information was available from Element Power but a press release was published in the Meath Chronicleon Wednesday with details of the project. The company should have been a lot more proactive about telling the public what was going on instead of waiting for a local politician to ask questions about the project on local radio. We will keep an eye on what is happening. The situation highlights one flaw in the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act, namely, that the pre-planning consultation process should be public. The document and letters sent to An Bord Pleanála should be available on a public file but that is not the case. I would like to see that problem with the legislation addressed.