Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Shanahan. There is merit in looking at that aspect. It should be examined seriously and in the way that France appears to be doing it. I must confess that I am basing this on news reports. There is significant merit in examining how that can be done and how we can learn from that approach. I accept fully that it is being done.

Turning to Intel's planned expansion and additional investment, it increasingly looks like the State will miss out on it. Some of the reasons put forward to explain why we will not be winning this investment include issues with housing, the cost of energy, transport and education. I refer to the cost of energy in the context of sustainability. I believe, and I think this view is shared by others, that this development is something of a tip of the iceberg regarding such difficulties. We had a session with the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council, NCPC, recently, and those witnesses referred specifically to problems concerning housing, transport and the other issues mentioned. They said that: "The attractiveness of a location cannot be focused solely on it as a place to work, but also on it as a place to live". Does Mr. Shanahan share the view that for us to remain an attractive location for investment that the crisis we have in housing, as well as the one looming in energy and those not far behind in education and transport, must be addressed? If we do not do that, does he believe that this situation will be a significant drag, as it is proving to be in the case of Intel? I say that knowing the final decision has not been made, but the indications are that we will lose out on that investment. There are crippling pressures in this regard. That is certainly the case when we meet with major investors, but also with representatives from industry. They cite housing specifically, but I must be honest and say the other issues are not too far behind. Housing, education and transport come together to contribute to perhaps this not being a great place to live for everybody. Is this context going to hinder our competitiveness and capacity to attract investment in future?