Mr. Fergal O'Brien:

I will take the question on transport and regional growth and then hand over to Mr. D’Arcy to discuss the framework. In the context of the prosperity dividend and the significance thereof, we made the point in several parts of the report that if one benchmarks the island of Ireland against all the regions across the United Kingdom, we are the second most prosperous region outside London. This is a very high-income and prosperous island but, within that, it is clear there is disparity. It is clear that Northern Ireland has not benefited as much as Ireland has in terms of that prosperity bounce, for all sorts of reasons. Equally, however, we have regional disparity concerns within Ireland as well. Some years ago, we set out an ambition that we would work towards the infrastructure and services for an all-island population of 10 million people. The housing commission recently observed that we in Ireland need to be planning for a mid-century population of approximately 7 million people, so that all -island population of 10 million is coming increasingly into focus. As we plan for that, we would like to see much more effective balanced regional development and a much greater sharing of that prosperity benefit and dividend across the island of Ireland. However, as we see the all-island economy flourish and that kind of integration improving and the movement in the labour market, the upside for Northern Ireland from here on will be as strong in terms of what we have been experiencing in Ireland. The difference in household income levels here compared with the average in the UK has become quite spectacular. That regional element is very significant, however, both for Northern Ireland and across Ireland. Transport is an element of that. We have very much been advocating for Atlantic transport corridors and having a proper all-island ring transport infrastructure to match that ambition of 10 million people.