I very much welcome the move by the Government to recognise Rosslare Europort as a tier 1 category port. This is a significant development, not just for Wexford, but also for the entire south-east region. The issue that I want to highlight is the long-awaited and much discussed road that will run to Rosslare Europort and will ultimately connect it all the way up to Belfast. The stretch of the M11 motorway from Oilgate to Rosslare has been under discussion since 2009. Finally, the route has been selected and detailed design is getting done so that the application for planning permission can be made.

There are 170 individual landowners whose properties have effectively been sterilised because they have been included in a route since 2009. The latest information that I have is that the planning application cannot be lodged until 2027 and then it will take approximately two years to go through the planning process. We need to have a debate in this House with the Minister, Deputy Jack Chambers, as the Minister responsible for infrastructure, to examine why large infrastructure projects like this road are taking so long to get through the planning process.

What changes can be made in order to speed that up, whether through legislation or by other means as a result of the accelerating infrastructure task force? The result should be the speeding up of this much-needed motorway.