Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have stepped out of a Cabinet meeting but I am quite happy to be here because this is an important project for the region. If this project is approved by An Bord Pleanála and if there are no legal challenges, the next step is to seek Government approval, as required under the public spending code. We will then proceed to the next stage, procurement of a contractor. Given that the project will cost in excess of €100 million, it will require further Government approval. There is another process under the national investment framework for transport in Ireland, NIFTI, which involves four priorities, all of which are given equal weight and ranking. The first priority is to ensure that roads have regional connectivity, the second is decarbonisation and another is to ensure the mobility of goods and people in our urban centres. All of these are taken into consideration when looking at projects. I will give the Deputy more information and I will relay his questions to the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan.

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