I concur with what my colleague said. I welcome the opportunity to raise this issue. I am more recent to the story but I agree fully with Deputy Connolly's relaying of the history of the project and the previous efforts of public representatives to raise and progress it. There are two ambulances in Clifden, which would be the nearest town to where it is proposed to locate this base. Last week, a player suffered an injury at a rugby match and waited 70 minutes for an ambulance to arrive having suffered a dislocated knee. One can only imagine the pain this person went through during that time. Could it be confirmed that the fire safety certificate and disability access certificate have been applied for and approved? This might give us some insight. Our understanding was that the tender documents were progressing alongside that, but there seems to be some delay. It is symptomatic of how long it takes and how arduous it is to progress a capital project.

Sentiment score: 0.06

I agree with Deputy Connolly that the content is limited to what is relevant to the specific issue. One line in the reply says that, "Approval will then be sought to proceed to issue tender documents." This is concerning because, as Deputy Connolly said, we all had an understanding that not only had this approval been granted previously but also the tender documents were prepared and ready to go. I hope this term can be changed from approval to a date for when it will happen. Another issue that arises concerns the Air Corps base in Custume Barracks in Athlone. I read yesterday in a newspaper that this is to change, which gives me some concern for the west because we will require a facility like that to service the west.

Sentiment score: 0.42