Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I thank Senator Flynn. I appreciate her four questions. On the first, we had an extensive public consultation for everybody, both Members of the Oireachtas and the public, on the priorities we set out in the national development plan. What the Government was clear on was that it wanted to do this quickly in order to try to unlock investment in key areas. That was important. If you look at what we decided to do, we set out in the programme for Government clear areas of priority, including housing, which, I think, is a priority shared by the Government and the Opposition, and transport. We are spending €1 in every €3 on housing and nearly €1 in every €4 on transport infrastructure. We are also investing in energy and water infrastructure. We were clear in how we were going to prioritise matters relating to the national development plan. We engaged in a public consultation process on it. We have also been following the work of the committee.

Ultimately, the allocation for the national development plan is one element. Additionality alone is not going to move the dial, however. That is why the work the committee has done and what we are trying to do around reform is the most critical aspect. This is about ensuring that the plans and the pipeline we want to publish in the coming weeks along with the sectoral investment plans can move a lot quicker. There are too many instances where roads are taking ten to 15 years to complete and wastewater treatment plants are taking seven or eight years to build. That is too long for many communities. We have set out the sectoral allocations. The sectoral investment plans which underpin those will be a key part of the next step. As I said, there was an opportunity for everyone, including Members of the Oireachtas, to make submissions.

On the 300,000 homes, we said in what we published that the target is 15,000 affordable homes and 12,000 social homes. The Minister, Deputy Browne, with a big uplift in capital investment, will bring forward out a new housing plan that will set out the detail around that. He is working extensively on that plan and has already brought through a number of important reforms.

Regarding Traveller accommodation, I acknowledge the points the Senator made. If you look at the year-on-year increase from 2024 to 2025, it went from €28 million to €30 million. We are working through the budget for next year. The Senator referred to local authorities not delivering on their plans. They should be delivering on them. I acknowledge Senator's advocacy in respect of this matter and the work she continues to do on it. That is something the Minister, Deputy Browne, will be working on in the context of budget 2026. If you look at the year-on-year increase, you will see that it went up over the past two years. We are still in the middle of the budget negotiations for next year.

On the Department of Children, Disability and Equality, one thing we have been really clear about is the need for a significant uplift in expenditure relating to disability. The Minister, Deputy Foley, has much greater headroom than in previous years. She will be setting out a specific plan in respect of the disability sector. There having been many reforms brought through in recent years on accessibility requirements and building regulations, which have much improved things compared with what was there in the past. The Senator is right; it is an important objective. Many of the newer builds are much more accessible. That speaks to the regulations, which have improved.

With regard to the disability sector specifically, there will be significantly more capital there over the next five years than was the case in the previous five. This will provide for specific interventions, where required, by section 39 organisations or, indeed, the wider disability sector.