Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am taking this on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Jack Chambers.

The Deputy will be aware that ministerial consent for this scheme was provided in early 2021 but was subsequently overturned by a judicial review challenge taken by a local community group. The Department of public expenditure has sought legal advice and taken measures to ensure the consent process complies with national and EU environmental law in order to account for the issues raised during the judicial review process. On foot of legal advice received by the Department and the recommendations of its retained environmental consultants, the Minister sought supplementary information from the Office of Public Works on the environmental impacts of the scheme. This request was made in February 2022 with the OPW supplying this information to the Minister in October of that year.

Following an examination of the environmental reports and supplementary information provided, and acting on the advice of independent environmental experts, the Minister sought further supplementary information from the OPW in November 2023. The OPW submitted the supplementary information on 17 April 2025 and 25 August 2025. Due to the nature of the information supplied, a further round of public consultation was required in order to inform the confirmation process under the provisions of the Act. A period of consultation was opened on 5 September 2025 and concluded on 10 October 2025. In total, over 1,000 individual submissions were received during this consultation and each submission can be viewed on the Department of public expenditure's website.

The environmental impacts of the scheme are currently being examined by an independent team of consultants. This work is advancing and I expect to receive reports which detail the outcome of these examinations. These reports will form the basis of any decision I may take in accordance with the provisions of the Act. Any updates in this regard will be published on the Department’s website.

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