Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

-----so it will be four years this year, and not one inch of the road has been improved. In fact, it has deteriorated disgracefully in the meantime. Dr. O'Keeffe might remember the time we paid the farmers for the sheep we took off the hills. They were getting very worried about it. I said we have paid them and we will worry about that again. It took Europe five years to approve it. It approved it retrospectively but if it had fined us, so what. If we are spending €58 billion a year, a fine of €2 million is not significant in the greater scheme of things if it is unavoidable and a lesser evil in terms of getting the job done.

The message has to be got across that the people have had enough, particularly in areas like Connemara where there are special areas of conservation, SACs, all over the place and where many people believe they cannot do anything to preserve the right to live in Connemara, the culture and the language of Connemara, all of the human aspects which are much more scarce. If we had SACs for linguistics, Connemara would be a quadruple A priority habitat because there is no Irish language in any other country as a community language anywhere in the world. There are pearl mussels in other places.

If we are really concerned about heritage and all these issues, and I am deeply concerned about them - I would not be in Connemara if I was not concerned about them - the human, linguistic, heritage and community interest trumps a zero risk to the pearl mussel from some unusual weather event only during the building phase. As I pointed out, if the road was built it would be far superior in terms of the run-off compared to the road in its present state. We need to get that message across strongly to the authorities.

Ba mhaith liom míle buíochas a ghabháil leis na finnéithe as a gcuid eolais agus a gcuid fianaise. Is léir an fadhb atá ann, go bhfuil an tír seo ag iarraidh bheith ar an mbuachaill is fearr san Eoraip, i mo thuairim, i rudaí mar sin. Gabhaim míle buíochas libh as teacht isteach agus go n-éirí go geal libh.

This committee is now adjourned until 1 February, Lá Fhéile Bríde.