Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for being late but am glad to get the opportunity to ask a few questions. I have been reading in advance the Building for the Future document, which is very useful. When I think of building for the future, I think of sustainability being a big issue in our future development. Will Mr. O'Brien point out a line to me in the paper which relates to the issue of environmental sustainability and how we build to the future?

Is there a line in it which sets out IBEC's vision of the importance of sustainability in our use of natural resources? I do not want to be too critical or personal in any way, but IBEC's submission to the national planning framework was the least sustainable proposal I have seen in the past 30 years in public life. It was all about roads everywhere, seeking 1,500 km of new motorways and dual carriageways. As I recall, IBEC had no plans for any public transport plans in Galway, Cork, Waterford or Limerick.

Accordingly, I was interested when Mr. O'Brien said such plans would be important. At the weekend, the Taoiseach said we will have to build in the centres of our cities. From my understanding of transport policy, this will require public transport projects. When Mr. O'Brien said there would be a priority for public transport in cities, particularly regional cities, has IBEC specific projects in mind for public transport in Cork, Galway, Waterford and Limerick, or indeed Dublin as well? Has IBEC changed its view from that in its national planning framework document which was all about roads and which would encourage sprawl and the huge costs which would come with that, not just the environmental cost, but the cost to the State serving this ever expanding urban settlement pattern that we have had over the past 40 years?

I have to put down a caveat about labour activation. Business succeeds in a society. Regarding people at home and working raising children, Mr. O'Brien said we could make better use of our existing resources. It is up to parents to decide. If they decide to work in the home or in other caring work, it does benefit our society and, in the end, business benefits from that. I have this terrible reaction when I hear that only paid work counts and only the economy matters, while anyone who is not in the paid economy does not count and we have to get them out of that situation as much as we can. I beg to differ. At the same time, parents working in the paid economy are doing a hugely important and valuable job. I am not pitching one person against the other. For IBEC to write off the majority of parents who make the choice to stay at home and to see it not having value, I have to raise a different point of view in that regard.