Grace O'Sullivan (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I have made my own submission to the process but I want to raise a few points. The Minister talked about making the business case for investment. We are talking about societies here, more so than business. I would be nervous if the Minister was only focusing on the business case.

I wonder why we are having this discussion without the capital plan on the table beside us. If I am planning something, I have to know what is in my budget, but we are in the dark in this process without that critical piece of information.

Does the Minister have criteria for determining regional investment? I get the sense from other Deputies and Senators of a lack of parity, and my own region, the south east, feels it is losing out. Waterford, in particular, is an unemployment blackspot and we need support with regard to the technological university, which would develop the skills and talent in the region in order that we can compete. We have not had that support so we need action as soon as possible.

We have talked a lot about roads today but not enough about rail. The construction of a good road from Europort Rosslare to Waterford, Limerick, Galway and the north west and back to Dublin is now almost complete and it needs to be finished as a matter of urgency, but we also need investment in rail because it will create an option for commuters and will alleviate the congestion in Dublin, Galway and Cork.

We have a huge opportunity in respect of renewable energy systems for rural Ireland, the western corridor, the eastern corridor and, for offshore wind, the Irish Sea, and I would like this to be built into the national planning framework. What we do now will lay the foundations, and if we get it right, it will be to the benefit of our society in coming years. If we think of it simply as a business opportunity, we will miss a vital component, namely, the people of our country.