Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their participation today. Deputy O'Connor in his narrative painted a picture that there is nothing happening in the south west, but the contrary is the reality. The purpose of our meeting today is to ensure that the investment in the regions continues. Never before have we seen the need for investment in the regions outside Dublin. Both Deputy O'Connor and I share an ambition, speaking as Corkonians, to recognise the importance of Cork as a counterbalance to Dublin. This is my first question to both witnesses. In the context of the counterbalancing, we have heard witnesses refer to the cities beyond Dublin. Can we take it that, as part of the review, the counterbalance will be a strong overarching theme to promote equality and opportunity?

My concern is that the reshaping or review of the national development plan could become a reconfiguration. This may mean a reduction in the level of investment in the regions. I want to ask our witnesses about that in terms of the overarching philosophy and policy around investment in the regions.

I have a specific request in the context of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. I believe that he should be invited to the committee in the context of this review. I welcome the extension to 19 February. I believe it should be longer, to be honest. I do not know that the commitment is necessarily in place in the minds of people.

Engineers Ireland has made a substantive submission. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy McGrath, is talking about the reshaping of the review in the context of climate change and where we are today vis-à-visthe pandemic, with commutability having changed and the whole issue around working from home. In the context of working from home, wherein lie the views of TII and the National Transport Authority with regard to more people working from home vis-à-visthe transport network and the proposed reconfiguration of our road network?

The Minister, Deputy McGrath, said:

Ireland cannot continue with 'development as usual' without giving due consideration to climate-associated risks. We need to ensure that we have the capacity to adapt and we must take an integrated approach, including climate change adaption at every stage in our development plan.

That is why I believe it is important that we have the Minister in.

My final comment resonates around Engineers Ireland, the professional body that put in a review. It referred to avoiding the mistakes of the past and systematically prioritising target projects with the greatest impact for society. Will our witnesses say what they see as being the targeted projects from the south-west perspective that would have a greater targeted impact for us in the region?

My thanks to Ms Graham and her team for organising the briefing for us on the Cork metropolitan strategy. I believe it has a significant journey to take yet but it has got off to a good start. There is now a level of engagement that was not in place previously. I commend Ms Graham on her role in driving that. I hope that we can see the synergy between Cork City Council and Cork County Council working to benefit all of us. If we are to create a counterbalance, then we need a strong Cork city.