Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. He refers to all the crises.

I am aware of the many challenges we face with regard to the supply of homes and the transition to a lower carbon future. In acknowledging the crises we have, we should acknowledge and make the case for the things that are going well in our country and society. I refer to where we are in the reopening of our domestic economy, the level of entrepreneurship, the excellence of our schools and the work they have done in reopening and getting children back safely. There is much in our society and country that we want to do better, but I also make the case for many things that are going well and of much of which we should be proud.

The Deputy made a point on our ability to meet the needs he described, particularly those of the communities and counties he referred to. That is why the national broadband plan is so important. It was not an easy or simple decision to make, but the Deputy and I made the decision to go ahead with the national broadband plan. Whatever criticism I got for making that decision would easily be outweighed by the criticism we would all receive if we did not have a national broadband plan being rolled out in the context of the massive change that could take place in many communities the Deputy represents outside of our larger cities. This is why the national development plan will be important. It looks to respond to many of the infrastructural and funding needs the Deputy referred to and to lay out how the funding will be made available to deal with these issues over a ten-year period. The Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, is doing considerable work on this and I hope it will be published imminently.

I am not in a position to comment on the speculation over the investment the Deputy referred to but I make the broad point that the fact Ireland is still perceived to be competitive and attractive for investment decisions recognises, notwithstanding all we need to improve on, that our economy, society, entrepreneurs, public services and Government are coming together to try to do well on.