Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Minister of State. I take what he said at face value and that he will be progressing the scheme as quickly as possible. I know the significant effort that has been invested in the matter over a number of years. Many of the reports are desktop studies and should not be impacted by Covid. We need clarity on whether the various reports that looked like they were ready last summer are now concluded. I refer to the construction environmental management plan and the environmental impact assessment report. They should be out of the way at this stage and the scheme should be much more advanced. It is worrying to hear the question of the freshwater pearl mussel being raised again because we understood that the issue had been definitively addressed a year and a half ago. I am concerned to hear it might be back on the radar again.

Could we be assured that those various stages are concluded and that we are in a position to move more quickly to a public consultation, which we understood we were at last year?

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