Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for the reply, but it is extremely disappointing, to be frank. The LDA was announced in 2018. As part of that announcement, Columb Barracks in Mullingar was on the initial list of sites to be developed. As the Minister of State has referenced himself, almost 100 houses could be provided there.

On Tuesday, 29 September 2020, I, along with the then Minister of State at the Department, Deputy Peter Burke, met with the LDA. It outlined a sequence for a timeline for the consultation to take place and when we could envisage a draft plan for development. In July 2021, there was a tour of the facility and the public consultation was extended to 30 July 2021. Thereafter, we expected a draft plan to be published for how this very historic site would be developed, how the historic buildings were going to be protected, how we would make it of use to community groups that are already there, as well as for other community groups, and how we were going make it available for housing development. Three years later-----

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