Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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654. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if her Department has approved work method statements received from Galway County Council on 19 January and 12 April 2016 regarding the full upgrade of the N59 national secondary road from Oughterard to Maam Cross in County Galway (details supplied); if another work method statement is required from Galway County Council in order to comply with An Bord Pleanála conditions regarding the full upgrade work of that section of the N59; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3974/18]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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A number of method statements in relation to the upgrade of the Oughterard to Maam Cross Section of the N59 were received in my Department in 2015 and 2016.

At a meeting in September 2016 between the National Parks and Wildlife Service of my Department and Galway Council to explore how best to progress work on the N59 including in relation to approval of method statements it was agreed that the Council would seek to progress the road section by section and that method statements for particular elements of work in the Maam Cross to Bunakill section would be submitted by the Council in the first instance. The Department gave a commitment to respond to all method statement submitted thereafter within ten days of receipt. Following that meeting, a revised method statement for the ground investigation works for the Maam Cross to Bunnakill section of the N59 was submitted by Galway County Council to my Department on 28 June 2017 and this was approved on 29 June 2017. On 6 September 2017 my Department received a draft method statement from the Council for archaeology testing on the Maam Cross to Bunnakill section and this was approved the following day, 7 September 2017.

It is understood that the necessary ground investigation work has now been completed and Galway County Council hopes to be proceed with the precautionary Archaeological work in the second quarter of 2018.