Mr. John Fitzgerald:

My colleague, Ciaran O'Keeffe, will reply on the pearl mussel and perhaps issues regarding the curlew.

With regard to the bereavement in Galway, and our thoughts go out to Liam's family, that is not the problem as I understand it. I do not believe the delay is due to a lack of staffing. Galway County Council is trying to get the engineers it has on board to prepare this method statement. It may not have been part of the initial contract it had with its consultants to do a particular method statement for this section of the road on its own. I think it is more a contractual and procurement issue that it is involved in, and I know it is working actively on it.

With regard to IROPI, it is a good question. It might be that there is a concern on behalf of organisations that they do not where it will go or how long it will take. There is a potential IROPI in Galway in the case of Galway Port. We have had meetings with Galway Port and An Bord Pleanála to see how we can work together at this stage on an informal basis to determine the compensatory measures so that when it reaches the decision making stage, all of us will be signed up to it.

I do not believe it is extremely important. I am aware it has happened in other countries. As mentioned, there were some cases in Spain and Portugal but they are not common. There are a number of tests one has to take to prove that the issues are of public importance as opposed to private importance, and there have to be no alternatives. It strikes us that there could well be a case made in regard to parts of the N59. It would not be for us to decide that. We could get involved in discussions on compensatory habitat and so on but it would be a matter for the developer and also the decision maker, which would be the board.