Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We will be hearing about the western rail corridor and rail links to Navan and elsewhere as part of our considerations. On a related point, we asked specific questions about the NTA funding for active travel projects undertaken in 2021, broken down by local authorities and other bodies. We did the same for cycling and walking projects in 2021. The geographic spread of such projects is incredibly stark in respect of the advantage enjoyed by certain areas. I appreciate that we are not always comparing like with like.

To give some examples, University College Dublin, UCD, in the south of Dublin, got €607,389 in funding. Meanwhile, County Laois got €413,100 and County Westmeath received €205,000. Those are the smaller figures. As might be expected, the Dublin local authorities got significant allocations. Those local authorities that I mentioned in the midlands, however, are in the just transition area, which is most impacted by the effects of the transition away from fossil fuels. They are particularly disadvantaged in this transition and they seem to be faring poorly in the allocation of State funding. I wonder how the Government will ensure that there is going to be an element of fairness and equity in these schemes.