Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The input that has gone into the plan will ensure that is the case. The north west must also be strategically incorporated into a population growth story. Currently, there is no city on the Southern side of the Border. Of course, the interaction with Derry is a huge part of Donegal's economy and that of the north west generally.

I assure the Deputy that what people are looking at is a draft plan which was published for consultation in September. Since then, there have been significant conversations and interactions with other political parties and the Oireachtas committee and it is up to the Government to get the balance right in terms of a plan to influence how local authorities and, indeed, many Departments behave and make decisions over the next two decades. It is a plan that will be backed up with a ten-year capital expenditure programme of over €100 billion for the next decade. That will be consistent with the thinking in the plan which will be good for rural Ireland and the cities also. That is what we are trying to achieve.

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