Ms Alma Walsh:

On that point and on the focus on population projections more generally, overall, part of the role of the NPF is around planning for and enabling a policy framework that can cater for a population of 5.7 million by 2030 and between 6.1 million and 6.3 million by 2040. That is an evidence base that has informed those projections that are included in the revised NPF. Not to labour the point, but one of the clear challenges for some of the regional cities will be the requirement for them to grow by 10% every intercensal period in order to reach that target. I appreciate that the baseline population is different for the regional cities but in terms of the scale and their capacity to grow, that has to be factored in not just in terms of what the targets are for the cities, but their role within the regions. Overall, what the NPF is seeking is a rebalancing or addressing of that unsustainable pattern, focus and concentration of growth that has taken place within the eastern and mid-east area around Dublin, and to address that by ensuring the regional cities are capable, attractive and viable alternatives for development more generally.

The NPF is also a key policy enabler for the cities to avail of those infrastructure projects the Deputy is referring to and the investment piece alongside it. There are numerous national policy objectives, NPOs, that reflect that, as well as key enablers in the metropolitan area transport strategies that clearly indicate there is a whole sequence of delivery and investment that is also enabled by other State bodies and agencies and which the NPF brings together. It is not just a case of the population not necessarily being ambitious enough. There is a series of interventions and policy areas that the NPF co-ordinates. Part of its role is to enable all of this to be integrated at a regional tier of plan-making, and thereafter into a local tier of plan-making, to ensure there is complete clarity and alignment around what the vision is for our regional cities.