Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. She mentioned the billions of euro that will be there between 2026 and 2030. The bypass did not make it into the 2025 period. We have come to the end of that now. The new funding announced a number of weeks ago did not include it either. I know some of those on the list, such as the Adare bypass, are badly needed, but there is a long list of other ones there as well. Mountmellick and Laois did not seem to figure in it at all. It needs to be considered for inclusion in the review.

The Minister of State outlined the amount of money due to be spent between now and 2030 and I welcome that. The national development plan is the opportunity and that will be signed off on by Ministers. The Minister of State knows that. It will be signed off on by the senior Minister and the rest of the Cabinet. This project is ready to go. The Minister of State mentioned that projects were being funded that had started or were almost ready to go, but this is ready to go. The studies and the groundwork have been done.

The Minister of State's party leader was down just before the election. I always like to take people at their word. Along with Deputy Aird, he gave a firm commitment - I saw it quoted publicly before the election - that this would be built under the national development plan. Will the Minister of State remind the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and her party leader, Simon Harris, of the fact? I have already said it to Deputy Aird. The Minister of State might remind the Tánaiste of the commitment. Local people really want to see that, particularly all the people who voted for Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in Mountmellick.

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