Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive response in respect of the developments in the licensing system. It is important that it has moved to a more digital age and documents can be uploaded online. That is a positive step forward because, previously, those making submissions had to post them to Clonakilty. The digitisation of the system is very important.

The core of the problem, however, is that there is no definitive timeline for when applications will be adjudicated on. In the case of an application in respect of an industrial or housing development, for example, the local authority has to go through the same issues but there are definitive timelines in place in respect of making a decision. For example, the local authority is obliged to have corresponded with the public and the applicant within six months of the application. There is not the same type of timeline tied into these aquaculture applications. If anything, they are so open-ended that the general public may forget about them because so many years have passed since the application was made. The public may be of the view that the applicants have withdrawn the application or moved on to other things. The 1997 Act needs to be considered in the context of tightening the timelines so that communities can have a definitive timeline in respect of when these applications will be adjudicated upon.