Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I cannot say progress will not be made in the next year, although I do not believe it will be made between now and the end of this year in terms of the planning. Nevertheless, we need to get it to the stage where the design will be progressed and where planning can be applied for. The site was bought only this year, so we have to go through the stages and progress it as quickly as we can. The decision was taken locally, in consultation with the Courts Service, as to where that site will be, which in itself probably took longer than it might take for another site. The site has been bought, which is the most important aspect, and the next stage is to make sure we have a design and can apply for planning.