Dr. Tadhg O'Mahony:

Senator Dooley has pointed to some very interesting issues. Something that comes through quite strongly in how we approach mitigation, transition and transformation is that we really need to think about the future of our country in how we deliver well-being sustainability. It is not about how we deliver transport or how we look at agriculture but about starting with a strong concept that can be brought through the analysis and then ultimately to the political decision making. That is really important. We do not have a model that allows us to do that and to look at the real win-wins.

On whether preferences have changed during the pandemic, it is very likely that they will. People are reacting to what is almost a traumatic occurrence in how we live our lives. Some people may want to push out further away from towns and villages. It may push towards more dispersed housing and that is problematic because living with the pandemic is something that in its extreme impacts is something that goes on for a relatively short time in the context of our long history. This will pass and then we are back to the same issues.

To return to well-being and sustainability and how we can give an idea of a positive future, Senator Dooley mentioned rural Ireland. We need to consider how the cores of villages can provide all the services, potential employment opportunities and provide affordable housing and affordable rents. These are the big issues that we need to deal with to get a handle on this because otherwise, we will feel as though we are taking things away from people. To answer this question appropriately, it is necessary to look at win-wins, which means starting with well-being and sustainability and examining how to really change things fundamentally to deliver better outcomes.