Maria Bailey (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise a number of points. The committee would welcome the engagement with Deputy O'Dowd's transport committee. I know I am biased as Chairman but I believe we are a proactive, determined committee. Whether it is to do with Rebuilding Ireland, the national planning framework, NPF, or any of the Bills that come before us, we are a dedicated committee that works very well with the Department. We do not always see eye to eye but we always come to a solution, which is very beneficial.

We are a committee with vast experience. Many of us are former members of local authorities or have been in government for a long time so we have dealt with many local area plans and development plans. Some of us have dealt with strategic development zones. I respect and understand the principles around proper sustainable planning and not ad hocplanning that resulted in ghost estates, dispersed communities and all that goes with that.

One of the key elements that struck me at a very early stage of this process was the figure of 10,000 people commuting from Portlaoise to Dublin for work almost ever day. For me, that was to do with a quality of life issue. If most people were spending their time commuting to work in their cars - an hour to go to work and an hour to come home - with all the pressures that go with that in terms of child care and stress, their quality of life is diminished. All of that is underpinned by past irregular planning decisions.

The national planning framework outlines an environment that allows us create the kind of society we want, whether that is in terms of employment, community, recreation or residential living. It has been captured well in terms of the next 22 years. I have not seen anything like it in my 17 years in politics, which I know is not as long a period as that of other members.

I very much welcome the ongoing engagement we had with the Department and the various sectors. I attended many of the public information events and the engagement throughout the country was tremendous, and it did not drop.

I disagree on a number of issues Deputy Ó Broin raised, especially in regard to Clonburris. I can speak, as can Senator Boyhan, about the Cherrywood strategic development zone, SDZ, where we had a Luas passing through fields with no houses around them for a number of years and stations that did not need to be used because we did not have the population. However, as local and national politicians, we set the parameters and infrastructure requirements that have to be adhered to in those SDZs. That responsibility is given to the local authorities and their local representatives for them to vote and decide on the staged mechanism of those SDZs.

I disagree also with what Deputy Ó Broin said about social deprivation, the population and the disparities around that. Education underpins growth, and when we see that 50 large-scale school projects are planned throughout the country, that equates to approximately 1,500 places. That is proper planning. Early stage proper planning and early intervention creates the environment in which people can grow, stay in their areas and be part of their communities.

I welcome the intense emphasis on encouraging foreign direct investment throughout the country and not being Dublin-centric or Leinster-centric.

We are not trying to discourage people from coming to Dublin and Leinster but are trying to disperse them in a proper and sustainable manner. I know there are issues around transport and I agree with Deputy Casey on that point. These are issues around which we need to keep applying pressure, both at national and local levels, to ensure transport is provided in a proper manner.

I very much welcome the protection of the Wild Atlantic Way, which is a very precious resource, and the development that is foreseen around it. I very much welcome the attention to our tier 1 and tier 2 ports and the harnessing of growth and of renewable energy in many ports, particularly in the west, and the fact that the west will provide most of the supply for the east in the future.

I recognise that these are targets and strategies that we have to implement, and it will be difficult to implement them. We are moving to that framework now. As public representatives, whether local, national or European Parliament levels, we have a role to make sure this happens because it will benefit all of us. We must not be parochial. We must look further than our own areas and our own back gardens.

I very much welcome metro north and the connection to the Luas, which is long overdue. Senator Boyhan recalls the smarter travel bids in Sandyford business district, which were very good initiatives to connect our transport hubs, and different transport methods, whether bus, Luas, walking and cycling, such as the bike schemes in Dublin that are being rolled out in other areas. That makes areas attractive for employment and residential development. Nothing in life is ever perfect but this is a substantial plan that lays a very strong foundation to develop the country in the way we want it to develop and that the people who participated in recent years want it to develop.

I did not want to mention the legal advice we got yesterday but my interpretation of it is very different from Deputy Ó Broin's. I suppose legal advice is open to interpretation but I was very clear the whole way through this process. I reaffirm, as the members have, the continuing engagement of the committee on the national planning framework. I also acknowledge the tremendous work that has gone into making it happen and getting it into print, the dedication and hours put into the plan. Sometimes the authors of these plans are unsung heroes and do not get the recognition they deserve. It took tremendous commitment by them, the Department and the many stakeholders to bring it to this point. Now we have to move to its implementation and the onus is on all of us to make sure it happens.