Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with a lot of what has been said. There is an undoubted need for the national planning framework. Previous plans have failed miserably but if this plan is totally successful, we will, unfortunately, have a slightly inflated version of what we have already, in which two thirds of the population live in the greater Dublin area. As a result, the plan is flawed. Regions are not defined properly, although cities are readily identifiable. We need to look at the country as an island and as a whole. We need to look at Belfast and the north west, though there is welcome mention of Derry collaborating with Letterkenny. Sligo and the surrounding counties also need to be included in the region, however, and one could argue there should be a Limerick-Galway region and a Cork-Waterford region as well as a Dublin region. The regions were decided in 2014, when Clare was lumped in with Wexford even though it is right beside Galway and the two counties have an economic reliance on each other, with people travelling from one to the other to work every morning. This needs to change and we need to identify proper functioning regions that can work together.

We also need to define a region. A region is something with an urban core and with transport links such as ports, rail and airports and a critical mass of people within an hour's journey, which will provide a counterbalance to Dublin. Dublin is creaking at the seams. There is congestion and one cannot buy a house here, but this plan wants to push more people into Dublin. We need to take advantage of this opportunity to rebalance the State.

Deputy Canney hit the nail on the head when he said that although the Atlantic corridor task force, which is backed by the State, was put together in March and on which the Minister sits, does invaluable work, that work is not being taken on board.

As a country, we need to re-balance what we are doing to seriously address the imbalance between Dublin and the rest of the country. There is a massive gulf. If we are to address the problems of rural Ireland, we need to create a counterbalance to Dublin. We must encourage people to stay in rural Ireland. We must ensure they can attend primary school locally and get a third level education close to home. When they are educated, we must ensure they can find jobs in their immediate area instead of having to travel to Dublin, Berlin, Amsterdam or Australia to find work. We need to have regional areas that can compete with Dublin. Serious work needs to be done on the plan to deliver in that regard.

I agree with Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice that we have an opportunity. We have a vision and an opportunity to get it right. I ask the Minister of State to listen to and take on board what members have said.