Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and his officials, who gave us a briefing yesterday on NIFTI and how it works and operates. I found it very informative and we now have a better understanding of how it works and what investment will be needed into the future. I support the contribution made by Deputy Lowry regarding the town centre first initiative and building up our town centres to deal with dereliction and get people back living in our towns and villages. There is a tie-in here in regard to Government policy. There are major investments in rural regeneration projects, town and village schemes and repair and lease schemes operated by county councils and supported by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The Department of Transport and the Minister have a role in trying to make it easier and more attractive to live in towns. I very much welcome the package that was recently announced for Clare, with €5.3 million for the active travel programme, including to upgrade footpaths that have not been upgraded for decades. It is really good news and I compliment the area engineers, the road engineers and the design office of Clare County Council on the work, dedication and time and effort they put into making those applications.

The fear in respect of NIFTI or any other framework that will be used to evaluate programmes is that some key projects might not get through the loop. For example, in the case of the northern distributor road in Limerick, the first phase is under construction, which is really welcome, although there is an issue with it that I wish to raise relating to the section from Coonagh to Knockalisheen in Meelick. There is provision in the scheme for a walking and cycling route from Knockalisheen centre to Watch House Cross in Limerick, which is welcome, but there is currently no provision for walking and cycling infrastructure into the village of Meelick, which is very concerning. There will be much more traffic on this road once the project has finished and we would be able to encourage people from Meelick village to walk or cycle into and out of Limerick. Will the Minister put me in touch with an official in the Department of Transport to whom I can speak? I have raised the matter with Clare County Council, which has acknowledged it is an issue that needs to be dealt with. It would be beneficial if we were to tie in that work with the other ongoing work.

Turning to the second phase of the Limerick northern distributor road, is that project viewed positively by NIFTI? It is a key strategic project for the mid-west, whether Clare, Limerick or north Tipperary, and it will provide much-needed better access to Limerick and the University of Limerick, UL, campus. It is a key priority for the county councils of Clare, Limerick and Tipperary and an important component of the spatial plan the southern assembly has compiled. It ticks all the boxes and we need to see progress on it. Will the Minister come back to me on that?

Finally, he might also give us an update on the national aviation policy. Has there been any work on that? Will there be an opportunity for stakeholders to have input into that critical policy?