Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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We are keen to see that project progress. As the Deputy says, Edgeworthstown is such a key town in Longford and has grown so much over the past number of years that we need to see certainty there. I would absolutely commit to working with the Deputy in that regard. This highlights the issue in terms of the just transition of certainty. The just transition commissioner, Mr. Kieran Mulvey, is on the record as stating when he formulated the plan that local authorities need to be given certainty. When you look around the country, in Longford, Offaly and Clare, these local authorities that were so much dependent on a key income stream from their rates budget from these old production facilities and Bord na Móna, there is such a transition. We need to be so careful that we do not compromise the ability of our local authorities to discharge all those services to citizens. Certainty is absolutely required. I am working hard with the Deputy and the team in Longford County Council in trying to deliver that certainty to them. I want to get away from a situation where it is a negotiation every single year trying to deliver this and that we have certainty into the future which gives them the opportunity to plan their finances in a more sustainable way. I am happy to commit to continue working with the Deputy in the future in that regard.