Ms Eileen Mannion:

As I am from Clifden, I know we have had a very busy season, thankfully. As I said, Kylemore Abbey reported that 300,000 went through its doors last year and I have heard reports that the gates have had to be closed on some days this year due to the numbers coming in. There were 169,000 visitors to the nearby Connemara National Park.

The problem is the road. With the heavy rains and storms last year, the road has deteriorated substantially and people are very concerned about it. The road is in urgent need of an upgrade. The application we put in was not for a new road or for a very wide road. We made a very constrained application because we respected the environmental designations but we also wanted to get the planning through. Unfortunately, the section from Clifden to Maam Cross has been refused and the section from Maam Cross to Oughterard is delayed because the method statements have not been agreed. This project is critical given that tourism is our main industry in the region and it is seasonal. The Clifden arts festival is taking place at the moment and there are huge numbers there but, come November, December, January and February, the area is very quiet. We have no other industry and we are dependent on tourism. We depend on people to use the road to come to visit us as we do not have a train service or an air service. It is critical that the infrastructure be upgraded as soon as possible.

We are here today to get help from the committee. I do not know what the committee can do or where we can go from here, but we are looking for assistance to move the projects forward for the area and for our communities. We want to ensure our children have jobs in order to stay in the area and that they can have access to health services and other services.