Pádraig Ó Céidigh (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Níl uaim ach dhá nó trí nóiméad. Sin an méid. Tugaim tacaíocht láidir don mholadh seo. I strongly support this amendment put forward by Senator Paddy Burke and supported by Fianna Fáil. It is a good amendment which takes the local community into account. Local communities in rural areas can often be forgotten. We have to think about the people who live there, their involvement and their engagement. The best environmentalists for an area are those who have lived in it for generations. We have to consider them as well. They are part of who we are and what we are about. I see several words written all over this amendment, namely, the common good of those who primarily live in a region.

On another matter of driving roads through the heart of Connemara, I invite anybody to drive along the N59 all the way to Clifden. They should talk to the locals who have to live there and get tourists to and from the town. All they want are roads on which they can move a car from A to B. They just want roads a fraction of the quality of those in the east and other parts. They want to live a normal life as well as they can. For that, one needs to be able to tar roads and maintain them.

This amendment would give greater clarity to the Minister of State and the Department in defining what is community and not. Dá bhrí sin, táim ag tabhairt tacaíochta dó.