Gillian Toole (Meath East, Independent)

I thank the Minister and his team. I have parachuted in here. I am normally at the disability matters committee but I have an interest in this. I have four questions and it would be great if they could be answered or followed up on later. The first is about the use of data and analysis. Will the use of cost-benefit and demographic data analyses, particularly for public transport projects, be compulsory in the NDP process? One example is the much-lauded M3 to Navan railway line, or possibly an upgrade of the Navan to Drogheda line with an extension from the M3 to Dunshaughlin which could free up capital for an increase for Local Link buses.

My next question probably follows on from the points raised by Deputy Clendennen. It is about risk aversion, etc. Will there be incentives for accountability, efficiency and productivity to be incorporated into work practices and the delivery of the objectives of the NDP? In that same space, must local authorities have detailed plans completed for NDP funding or are objectives in county development plans sufficient? I use my own county of Meath as an example. We are now at the strategic issues phase of a new county development plan so we have objectives but there are not detailed transport plans. Various local authorities will be at different stages. How will that be managed?

My final question is an extension of matters discussed at our disability matters committee meeting this morning. We had fantastic presentations from two schools in relation to the incorporation of integrated therapies for supporting children with additional needs and how they currently operate on philanthropic funding. The results they are getting and the supports the children receive are producing massive savings. Instead of spending money on residential care or rehabilitation, these preventative approaches are transformative. The school principals and their teams gather an awful lot of data and provide that data to the Department but it is not then readily accessible for forward planning. If there are places where there is best practice and they have costings, can that be used to feed in for funding to mainstream some of these integrated therapies in the absence of Departmental data? I appreciate it is probably more for the Department of Children, Disability and Equality.