Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is an area in which we can learn much. We only have to look across to the situation in the UK, which could be seen as an example of what not to do in certain areas. Even in my own parish, last Monday night, 15 coaches arrived that included eight young Ukrainian lads as part of a larger group. There is still goodwill and a willingness to do the right thing. However, there are many things we could do better in terms of involving communities at an earlier stage. If we were to do that, we could have an even bigger response. Invariably, what happens is that there are pressure points, with population buildup in one particular community, which leads to a narrative around pressure on school places and all of that. Communities know best how to handle their own responses, which is what is happening in a good way all over the country. I realise it is about numbers and the need for an immediate response to the emergency. However, I would appreciate if there were some way of feeding back that message about learning lessons from other countries. As Chairman of this committee, I cannot speak on behalf of the country but I certainly can see the value of that approach in my community in terms of people wanting to respond in a positive way.

There is no reference to the trans-European transport network, TEN-T, in Mr. Murphy's submission but there is a nice photograph of roads, which I was excited to see. Deputy Howlin does not have to worry about these things any more in the south east, where there are many great roads. However, my colleague, Deputy Harkin, and I live in the north west. Delivery of the TEN-T is not specifically relevant on the way up to Sligo but for the twin towns bypass on the Letterkenny-Lifford Road linking into the A5, these are game-changing moments. From an accountancy point of view, we are talking about Ireland being a contributor to the EU. The north west has massive potential to become a net contributor to the overall economy in this country but one of the big obstacles is road infrastructure. All of the due diligence and the preparatory, investigative and exploratory work in preparing for TEN-T has been done. All those boxes have been ticked. Is the EU still committed to developing the regions that still need to be developed, particularly in terms of roads policy? We have a whole new green agenda, which is right. It is good to have public transportation but for a place like the north west, where we do not have rail services or alternatives, the road is the only option for us at the moment. Is the commitment to connectivity through TEN-T projects still there? I realise this is a specific area and Mr. Murphy may not want to get into it.