John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to put on record my thanks to the Minister for Transport for the funding of €17.6 million for Waterford's local and regional roads programme announced earlier this week. This is my first opportunity to address the issue. This funding will make a significant difference within my county.

The main topic I would like to discuss is the welcome decision of the Supreme Court yesterday to uphold the decision of the High Court to grant permission to Glanbia for a €140 million cheese processing plant in Waterford Port at Belview. This is a very welcome decision as 85 jobs will be created on completion. The project will also provide approximately 400 construction jobs over the next few years but most critically, the plant will support the incomes of 4,500 farm families in the south east and further afield. This represents significant support for rural Ireland. The project, as the Acting Leader knows, is a key diversification tool in the context of Brexit. The aim is to move to the production of more continental-type cheeses rather than relying so heavily on the British cheddar market.

It is regrettable that this project was delayed by two years as a result of appeals by An Taisce of the decision of Kilkenny County Council to An Bord Pleanála and subsequent appeals to the High Court, applications for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, and ultimately the final decision of the latter court yesterday. An Taisce issued a statement yesterday saying that it noted and respected the decision of the Supreme Court. It is unfortunate that it did not respect the decisions of various other entities, all the way up through the planning process, including An Bord Pleanála and the High Court. The two-year delay has led to significant cost inflation for the project but the decision of the Supreme Court is a really positive one. I hope now that Glanbia and Royal A-ware can progress this plant as soon as possible to support the 4,500 farm families across the region.