Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I might ask for written answers because I would really appreciate that. One question is on the review of the TEN-T programme - the idea of funding new projects and looking to engage with Europe on the western rail project and those kinds of large-scale projects - while another concerns land use by local authorities and how we can look more at funding. Again, when we look at the recovery and resilience strategy, it concerns the idea of giving local authorities not just the power but the funding they need to directly develop.

My three questions are really about permeability. When we talk about compact growth, does that need to be reimagined so it is not technical density of office buildings, empty or not, but a liveable space in our cities? It concerns the idea of the 15-minute city, about which there were comments, and permeability in terms of better use of public rights of way. Can public rights of way - the network of laneways in our towns and the network of connections in estates that were built before intensive car usage - be reimagined so that we are not just talking about cycling and walking on the sides of roads but around other networks in respect of walking and cycling? Could the witnesses comment on better use of that public right of way infrastructure and the possible formalisation of that?

Should there be better use of environmental impact assessment and social impact assessment at a much earlier stage in the planning process so that these issues get caught, we do not have a backlog later at the judicial review level and better quality decisions are made at an earlier point? Those are the key points I wish to make.

Could the witnesses comment on the sustainable development goals, SDGs, which are now mandated in local development, specifically SDG 11 around sustainable cities and communities and how that might be one of the imperatives or mandates for change in how we approach liveable and walkable cities?