Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We have addressed the reason for the delay up to November last year. It was because the Attorney General was taking time with the advice. In January the Government agreed to support the building of a new runway. It acknowledged the serious commercial risks for the company as identified by the DAA, to which I communicated to confirmation of the Government's intention to implement Regulation No. 598. I said I would publish the policy statement. What has happened since the Government's decision in January is that there has been a great deal of communication between the various Departments involved. My Department has been working with the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, the Department of Communications, Climate Change and the Environment, Fingal County Council and the Office of the Attorney General to agree on the process to be followed to ensure compliance with Regulation 598, about which I have told the committee today. More recently, a group of senior officials was convened, chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach, to co-ordinate and prioritise the delivery of the north runway project and prepare for the drafting of legislation as expediently as possible.