Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to highlight that there is some concern in Galway. An Bord Pleanála has indicated that the new target date for the decision on the building of the Galway city ring road is 27 August. The latter is the third indicative date given in respect of a decision on this vital project. The first date was in March and the second was in June, a number of days ago. The new date is in August and there may possibly be a further extension. This road is crucial to Galway city, Connemara and the western region in terms of quality of life, traffic congestion, continued investment and tourism. The project was agreed by the Cabinet in October 2018 and the cost involved at the time was €588 million.The commitment of the Government then and, I have no doubt, now is clear. I expect the project to be part of the review of the national development plan. Indeed, the project has been in various national development plans going back for the past two decades. This is a long-running saga in Galway and one on which people are probably sick hearing about but I will continue to show my support for the project to be sanctioned and constructed. I have always said that if we get planning permission for this project, it will be built. The commitment is there for it, it is of such vital importance and the cost-benefit analysis has been proven time and again. The political support in the main is there and it is certainly there from the Tánaiste and former Minister for Transport, Deputy Varadkar, who is very familiar with the importance of the project to Galway and the region.

The second issue I will touch on is the reopening of our hospitality sector, including restaurants and pubs. They have been through an horrendous year and three months at this stage. The expectation was that they would reopen this week. Unfortunately, that was not to be and they are clearly looking for a definitive date with 19 July being indicated to coincide with the reopening of international travel. The majority of travellers coming to this country stay in hotels where they can dine but they will not be able to get the feel of real Irish hospitality in our towns, villages and cities, unless they also get the full experience of indoor dining. We would love to have the Mediterranean climate for our summer but that does not always happen and businesses have tried to accommodate outdoor dining as best they can. I wish the Restaurants Association of Ireland and the hospitality sector well in their deliberations today and in the coming days and I hope that we can have a definitive opening time and date for the sector.