Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We welcome the Minister of State's statement that he fully supports us and that he will try to resolve this situation. That said, while someone can support a team, winning the All-Ireland is a different matter. These people need a solution. They need dates and times as well as a clear pathway forward. First, they need a pathway for next winter because the pumps and so on will have to go, given that there will not be the various regulatory elements. Second, the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, or the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke's planning section therein, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the OPW need to work together on finding a solution quickly, not only for Lough Funshinagh, but for all parts of the country. The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media should be able to take Lough Funshinagh out of designation under Articles 6.1, 6.2, 6.3 and 6.4 of the habitats directive in order to clear the path and bring that solution forward.

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