Ground water: There is an absence of policy regarding adequate protection of groundwater aquifer in the case of water abstraction and water table drawdown by the extractive industry. There is for example no reference to dewatering to any given a.O.D. level. It is submitted that this might be properly informed and drafted by a qualified hydrogeologist. There has been a lack of proper hydrogeological consideration in planning permissions over the years with An Bord Pleanála overturning many County Council grants on the basis of inadequate hydrageological assessment.