Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

The Minister is being somewhat presumptuous. I used the word "changed" rather than "abandoned". Thousands of homes have been built in counties Wicklow, Louth and Meath, and the quality of life is decreasing for residents who face a commute that means their working day is 12 or 13 hours. If the national spatial strategy were effective, people would move out of cities into the provinces and endure shorter commutes, thus causing less pollution.

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