Mr. John Fitzgerald:

Deputy Grealish mentioned consultation on the N59 as well and I will briefly refer back to that. We met the consultants and Galway on how the method statements might be sent on to us. It is early days. I understand that the local authority has not yet got consultants or engineers to prepare the method statements for it for the Maam Cross to Bunakill section of the route, and it is still involved in a process of doing that. We have been at early presentations by Arup in relation to the bypass at a stage where the preferred route was not selected. I am not an ecologist, but certainly the consultants were well aware of the issues that they needed to deal with in terms of the ecological and other constraints on them and have taken all those into account.

The Department is available to meet the consultants and the local authority at any stage to provide whatever advice and assistance it can.