Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

With regard to the main matter raised, I cannot deal with one specific case, but the resources are there and some planning applications are very detailed and complicated with regard to environmental legislation. The board has access to the resources it needs to bring in the required personnel to make those decisions and advise it. In our view, the board is now in a position to make a judgment soon on that case and others.

With regard to the mica and pyrite schemes for Mayo and Donegal, in the budget in October, the Government committed to having a scheme and in the past couple of months, our Department has been working on schemes that we think would suit. That has to happen both in Mayo and Donegal. Those schemes will go to Cabinet soon, hopefully in January. That is the next phase of this. The Government has committed to putting a scheme in place and bringing it through. We are committed to helping people who are in a very difficult situation with regard to houses and homes in Mayo and Donegal.