Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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I congratulate the Chair. I welcome the opportunity to sit on this committee, which has an extremely important area of responsibility. I look forward to working with all the other members as a representative from the west of Ireland and the northern and western region. It is a region ranked 219th out of 234 EU regions in terms of infrastructure. I am very conscious of the need to ensure regional balance in capital expenditure and to progress projects critical to the west of Ireland. These include the Galway ring road and the western rail corridor. I think we are all aware there are issues regarding capacity in respect of the State's housing, water and electricity infrastructure. These need to be addressed. I hope this committee can be a vehicle for progressing and, ultimately, delivering these projects across the State. I hope to play my part in that endeavour. There are also several other areas of interest, including the commitments in the rail review. I am thinking of my own area and double-tracking of rail infrastructure there specifically. There is also the issue of elective hospitals for the State's cities. I am again thinking specifically of Galway. Our regional airports are also key when it comes to regional development, and the public transport links we have to them. I am looking forward to the work of the committee.