Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. We all agree there is a need for urgent transformation of public priorities. Dr. O'Mahony mentioned rail. Should we look at rail electrification on a similar scale as the weight we gave to rural electrification? Deputy O'Rourke mentioned trains earlier. There is currently discussion of electrifying the trains to Maynooth but Kilcock is literally only a stone's throw away.

A cost-benefit analysis might show it is not worth doing now, but it will be worth it. There is no doubt that the train line will be electrified as far as Kilcock. Why not do it now?

I appreciate the comments of Mr. Murphy. He did not talk in the abstract. He said he does not intend to have a car. My son never intended to have one until he had a child. Due to the fact he lives in north Kildare, he has had to succumb to having a car. It goes back to the lack of planning. We do not have a history of urban planning in Ireland. We need a sense of urgency around that.

I have a question for Mr. Cussen. I was a councillor in Kildare County Council before being elected as a Deputy. He said there is nothing worse than sprawling housing estates. There is nothing worse than sprawling housing estates with one way in and out. Somebody who lives at the back of such an estate has to travel a significant distance to get to a school that is just behind his or her wall.

I mentioned that we do not have a long history of urban planning. I know Mr. Cussen only has an oversight role. The planners in Kildare County Council were interested in this as well. When we are planning cities and villages, we should not hand all of the power to developers. Local authorities could plan how a town or city is going to expand and ensure every road goes somewhere. We are trying to introduce permeability into estates, but no estate wants to have a breakthrough. They do not want lanes and so on. I appreciate that Mr. Cussen has an oversight facility and I know there are difficulties in terms of joined-up thinking. Does he believe that communities should drive the systemic transformation that we need for the future?