Mike Kennelly (Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State. While I acknowledge the Department's past engagement and the emergency funding that facilitated temporary repairs in 2024, I must reiterate that we are now beyond that point of patchwork solutions. As I said, the people of the Duagh and north Kerry deserve more than reactive measures. The bridge's repeated closures are not just an inconvenience, as I stated. They are a threat to the social and economic fabric of the region. Every time this route is severed, it isolates families, disrupts livelihoods and undermines confidence in our infrastructure planning. Therefore I am calling on the Minister to directly engage, which the Minster of State has promised, to ensure the current application is given the highest level of consideration under the 2026 climate adaptation and resilience works programme.

I note that the Minister of State has said that approval to proceed with works in a river is needed from Inland Fisheries Ireland and not from the Department of Transport. With the Minister of State's guidance, I ask that we draw down the design funding model, first of all. If there is a liability on whatever body it comes under, whether it is the OPW, the Department of Transport, or whoever it is, they should come to the table and we come to a very fast solution on this. I thank the Minister of State for his comments.