Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On MetroLink, two rounds of public consultation have been undertaken by the NTA and TII. The finalised business case is expected to be submitted by the end of this year and then brought to the Government for approval in line with the public spending codes. It is expected that the railway order, which is the planning permission application, will be lodged with An Bord Pleanála in 2021 and construction can begin once that procedure is complete.

We are all in the area of essential work so whatever work can continue should do so, if possible remotely. An Bord Pleanála is carrying out oral hearings via video call. It is important we ensure that as many sectors as possible continue to work on the construction of these critical pieces of infrastructure, which will be important for our economy. I do not think there should be any delay in relation to that but we have to see where we stand with level 5 after six weeks.