Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for a very comprehensive reply. I will touch again on the stage the projects are at. I acknowledge the Minister of State's comments in that the primary responsibility for advancing this work lies with Mayo County Council. We all accept that and there is absolutely no difficulty there.

Now the council has submitted a preliminary business case, what is the next stage? When does the Minister of State envisage his Department will have evaluated that business case? When will his Department be in touch with the council on the matter? On behalf of the citizens in the area, I am looking to establish an approximate timeline that we can work to, acknowledging that it has been more than a year since this was first announced. People are, understandably, asking questions.

I have a second question. The Minister of State mentioned that the local authority must exercise appropriate cost control. That is exceptionally difficult for any organisation, business or local authority in the current climate. In this reply, will the Minister of State touch on what the Department is doing to deal with inflation and the excessive rise in costs of building materials and labour, which will of course affect the local authority as well? In the interests of the public good, these are the types of projects in respect of which the Department will have to take a more hands-on approach. It appears from the reply that it is currently taking more of a hands-off approach. In dealing directly with rising costs associated with projects like this, the Department will need to get around the table with all its expertise and see how we can assist the local authority in managing escalating costs.