Mr. Pat Vance:

I will address the National Roads Authority now Transport Infrastructure Ireland. Deputy Pat Casey as well as the Chairman would be well aware of it, on the periphery of the area of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and the attitude and the frustration of members of the regional assemblies in regard to the NRA and its attitude to development along the N3 and the N11. Very expensive roads are built and one does not allow people on to them. In the north Wicklow area, we have gone through the proper process and we have to grow Bray to 40,000. There is not enough land and land is being properly zoned for the past seven or eight years. A planning application has been submitted recently for a substantial number of houses and commercial activity and the NRA has objected to it. The frustration of the members of the assembly both in Wicklow, Kildare, Meath and Louth in regard to the NRA is that the application was in compliance with the strategy for County Wicklow. It is very important that the national planning framework has a statutory base because we see when a plan has been developed and agreed and is legally in compliance with the regional strategy, we think stakeholders such as the NRA should be complying and helping to bring that plan to fruition and not frustrating it. At present, there is huge frustration in respect of the attitude of the NRA to development in the Wicklow area. Despite the fact that the county council is complying with everything under the spatial strategy, the proposals are being frustrated. That must be dealt with in the new planning framework. The stakeholder must be statutorily obliged to help the development that has already been approved.