Mr. David Walsh:

I realise I did not address a couple of Deputy Ó Broin's questions. Irish Water has a couple of different plans, a five-year rolling capital plan which brings us back to the baseline and represents priorities with which we have to deal, and a 25-year strategic plan with which all facets of the Department, including the planning side, have been very closely involved. Irish Water and the water and planning divisions have all been aligning. We in the Custom House are ensuring that nothing clashes with, or runs counter to, what we are doing. Irish Water bases its requirements on the current plans and this further reinforces the need for an NPF that is updated and aligned. Once that is there and once regional plans are in place Irish Water, like the NTA, will have to ask how it will reprioritise. In advance of that we are engaging with it on the plans for the midlands and the east, among other areas. We see the underlying population demands of Dublin and how we need to manage those over the next 20 years or so. There will be a demand for significant national resources in that respect.

Another question was on how the NPF will or will not deal with some of the tricky issues that were raised. The NPF will set some very broad principles which the regional, city and county development plans will flesh out and prioritise. The planning system however is a lot more responsive and recognises the issues. In the west of the city there are three major SDZs and the whole point of strategic development zones is that it is not just about houses but the infrastructure that goes in before them and is integrated into the development. Making better use of the rail lines and the stations that have not been activated for some time, such as in Clonburris and Hansfield, is important and hopefully in ten years' time we will look back and agree that the city is more balanced, better serviced and more integrated across all its areas.

The last question on our list was, "What does a successful NPF look like?"

In 20 years time, what will indicate that we got it right? There will be the initial process in January and, as we draft it and bring it back to the committee, we will be able to get its views and feed those into what it is hoped will be not just the Department's document but a national document.