John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)

The Senator has rightly pointed out the limitations of the existing facility in Rathdowney, such as its poor layout and the additional requirements from a welfare perspective for staff given the additional crewing elements. Laois County Council has now indicated this is its priority one project for the capital programme that will run from 2026 to 2030. It has the site the Senator identified, which will be a better site to allow for tenders to navigate the streets. I can assure the Senator my officials will work with Laois County Council to progress its identified priority infrastructural projects within the context of the totality of the budget that will be available for the 2026 to 2030 programme. We are working on that within the Department and what the capital envelope will be for that programme.