Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State talked about Project Woodland solving things. In my opinion, Project Woodland will solve things down the road but, at the moment, we have contractors going bust. In Project Woodland, one of the recommendations was to give a grant for doing an NIS. Legal advice was being looked at for that. I think no one can contradict me on this. It is going out for legal advice on state aid and all that. I think it is up on the webpages on procurement that the Department has tendered for it for 3 September.

Whatever the Department is at, the industry got that report last week and has got legal advice, probably from the same crowds the Department gets legal advice from. I will not name names but the industry has done that in less than a week. From what I am reading on the procurement process, it will be 3 September before someone is appointed. When do we expect to get the evidence or whatever and when do we expect to have a scheme in place? Is it next year, or in the next month or two? I am not knocking it but from what I am reading, this, no more than Project Woodland, is for next year and not this year. Does the Minister of State realise the crisis is this year?