Brian Leddin (Limerick City, Green Party)
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Irish Rail is not here to answer that, but in fairness to it, it has probably been starved of investment going back decades, if not generations. It has probably been five or six decades. It is at the point now where it is being blamed for the lack of a fourth track on the northern line and for it not being possible to provide the services. People suffer, give up and turn to commuting by car and more energy and carbon intensive modes of transport. It is interesting purely from a sustainability point of view that it is something that does not get headlines, but is hugely important. I am concerned that not enough noise is being made.

We are setting a path. There will be approximately 1 million more people in the country by 2040 compared to now and we do not have a good plan for where they will live. We have a plan; it is just not a good one. The plan is that they will live in low-density, suburban settlements, dispersed settlements and ribbon developments. That is what the national planning framework sets out at the moment and the knock-on consequence of that is severe from the point of view of resource use and carbon, not to mention all the other knock-on impacts, which are serious, such as social deprivation, health and many other things. Others may want to contribute on this matter.