Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Táimid ar ais ag na hoileáin. As the Deputy is aware, Galway County Council is the responsible authority for the maintenance and development of infrastructure on the Aran Islands. The development of the pier on Inis Oírr is listed among the strategic objectives set out in Project Ireland 2040.

A steering committee consisting of representatives from my Department, Galway County Council and the consulting engineers has been meeting regularly to monitor progress. The Department has approved the business case for the development of the pier and Galway County Council is now in the process of resolving a number of pre-construction issues prior to issuing a draft tender for the development. These issues include: preparing CPO applications, development of bye-laws for the regulation of the pier and the application for a foreshore licence.The council has published a draft of the bye-laws and is currently collating submissions received from the public.

I understand that the council held a meeting recently with the foreshore unit in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to discuss the application for a foreshore licence. They were advised that it is a lengthy process and some additional studies will need to be undertaken.

Given these developments, I am not in a position to provide the Deputy with a definitive date for the resolution of all of the pre-construction issues. I can assure the House that my Department will continue to engage robustly with Galway County Council so that the issues continue to be progressed as quickly as possible.

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