Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The process is important and there has to be a community consultation with any planning application. That opportunity will be afforded and there will be a period of time to do that. It is also important to point out that the environmental impact assessment is not just a case of employing a consultancy company to give a standard report and tick the boxes. In my position as Minister of State with a vested interest because of my responsibility for mining, I see that it is important that it is rigorous and that there is consultation with the communities. There have been many mistakes made in the past about planning, be it single or multiple development. We have to bring all the lessons learned into it. We can learn about processes from the good and positive aspects of building regulation. We need a very active, open and transparent process. As a former community development worker, I know the community has to be at the heart of it because if the community does not support a project, nine out of ten times it will not work.