Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Like the Chairman, I am delighted to have our guests here in Leinster House. It is a great day and all the speakers did well. I see exactly where they are coming from and their point of view. As children, they are the future and will shape the future of Carlow or wherever they decide to work and live. Carlow has totally changed and being a university town will bring a lot more changes to it in the next ten years.

I welcome what the witnesses said about Carlow town centre. It is important that we listen to their concerns. The town centre regeneration project is being done under the urban regeneration and development fund. There was mention of the different issues in this regard. There have been changes within the plan but I can say with certainty that the regeneration of Carlow will begin. It will bring huge changes on Dublin Street, Barrack Street and the main streets in the town centre. Footfall is very important. Another issue that was mentioned is the condition of the derelict buildings on Tullow Street. I absolutely understand where the witnesses are coming from on that. A total of €22.5 million is being invested to address the problem. There were some issues between the Department and Carlow County Council and, as I said, there were some changes to the plan. That is all sorted now and we will see diggers in the town centre by the middle of next year at the latest. The project will revamp the whole town centre.

I agree totally that we need to look at putting in more pedestrian crossings. The speakers also mentioned cycle lanes. A lot of new cycle lanes have gone in but we need a lot more of them. We need to talk further with the guests and hear more of what they have to say on this. Have they ever spoken with the engineers in Carlow County Council?