Mr. Tom Healy:

To quote from an old comedy, the reason the urban middle class is so concerned about the environment is because they do not have to live in it.

To come back to the key issues, another problem mentioned was that it is not just central authority but how we engage with Europe. There is a term in marketing "fear, uncertainty and doubt" that is used in instances where someone will discourage their competitors by sowing the seeds of doubt with their customers. That is what is happening here. The seeds of doubt are being sown in the minds of those in the environmental sector and the National Parks and Wildlife Service that this project might be too risky in terms of the pearl mussel. With fear, uncertainty and doubt we have no means by which we can assess the risk to determine whether the project can proceed.

Galway County Council has engaged international engineering consultants to make the point that this can be done in a manner that is safe and will not harm the environment. Deputy Ó Cuív stated that this will be better for the environment in Connemara in that drainage on the M59 is uncontrolled. As soon as we do the work on this road, we will get the drainage under control. That means that in terms of accidents involving deposits such as oil or any harmful chemicals, they will not enter the ecological system.