Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

Who does the Minister think is representative of the area? The issue in north-west Mayo is that people have very different views on this project and those views vary from area to area of the Erris region, a huge geographical area. Those who were opposed to the gas pipeline comprise both outsiders and local people and they must be respected for their views. Will the Minister accept that the only way forward in such situations is continuous and slow dialogue? He is absolutely correct that some of the meetings were acrimonious but some of the most productive meetings we had were quite acrimonious; my view was we were making progress. Considering what the Minister said about the deep-freezing of the forum in some limbo, will he reconsider reverting to the situation where it would be proactively driving reconciliation and also development within the Erris area? Is it intended to make natural gas available in Ballycroy, Carrowteige and Belmullet?

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