Vol. 490 No. 5
91 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources whether it was necessary to employ consultants at a cost of £130,000 to provide information on coastal erosion when all the necessary information had been submitted to his Department by coastal county councils on several occasions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10639/98]
The decision to commission consultants Brady Shipman Martin to prepare and publish a report on coastal zone management and a discussion document on a draft coastal zone management policy was made by Ministers of the previous Government, in 1994, with a view to progressing the development of a national coastal zone management policy and implementation framework. That was the first attempt by an Irish Government to address the many issues involved in a comprehensive way. Those documents were published and presented to both Houses of the Oireachtas on 2 December 1997 and a public consultation seminar was held in Dublin on 30 March. The outcome of that process is currently being reviewed and I hope to obtain a Government decision in the coming months on the way forward.
