Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)

I understand that work is ongoing with the local authority in relation to that. My Department is very happy to support that planning permit, which will be very important for the sector. There is huge opportunity. We hear some negative things about the planning process but one thing that strikes me, as a former Minister of State with responsibility for planning, is that over 90% of planning decisions in this country do not go to appeal. A lot of good things happen but we do not hear about them. Dexcom is a prime example of that. I met representatives of the company recently and had a chat with them at an event in Galway involving the chamber of commerce. I also met the chief executive of Galway County Council, Liam Conneally, who outlined the ambition for County Galway. If I remember correctly from my days in the Custom House, his is the second biggest local authority in Ireland and has a huge amount of opportunity. The area has grid capacity and power, which we do not have in a lot of areas of the country. Galway has a lot of good cards and hopefully it will get to play them right over the next number of weeks.

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