Mr. Niall Cussen:

As had been flagged in Deputy Hildegarde Naughton's contribution, some of the issues around Parkmore have been the focus of the Department and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport in terms of working with the local authorities. The recent opening of the new motorway has probably tipped the balance again away from free-flow traffic and more towards congestion, but there have been some positive developments in the last few days in regard to agreement about land transfers and clearing the way for additional capacity in that area. We will get back to the Deputy on that.

I suppose Parkmore in its own way is a great example of where the State agencies, such as IDA Ireland, working with the local authorities, the transport provides, etc., have created a world-class cluster of med-tech and other enterprises that are thriving in the west, in Connacht, providing high-tech employment for over 8,000 people who are drawn from a wide regional catchment, including the city and right through south Roscommon, east Galway, etc. It is a classic example of where the critical mass, the infrastructure, the enterprise and the economic development conditions, the knowledge, the skills, etc., all come together. Even in the western seaboard and more peripheral parts of the country, we can succeed and drive regional growth. There are some short to medium-term issues that have arisen in regard to transportation access and connectivity and from a departmental and cross-departmental point of view, we are absolutely committed to resolving those in the fastest time possible. Of course, the long-term answer is the ring-road.