Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

I ask the Minister of State whether he agrees with this point because it is fairly obvious.

In his reply, the Minister of State cited Fingal, which I represent, as having in effect added the population of Carlow to its population figure since 2002. On that basis, given that they highlight that Swords is the same size as Waterford city, to what use will the figures be put? If one considers a place like Waterford, even its most basic facilities, such as primary schools, post offices and libraries, are a great deal more plentiful than is the case for somewhere like Swords, which has a fast-growing and largely youthful population. To what use will the unofficial figures be put? They are largely indicative of major failures to provide facilities within the context of a significant level of house building. Rush, which is the same size as Kilkenny city, does not yet have a full-time Garda station.

See this speech in context