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

That is exactly what the new national planning framework and the 2040 plan are all about - ensuring that as population growth continues, it happens at twice the pace outside Dublin as in Dublin. The investment decisions and priorities we are making are consistent with that. I do not disagree with much of what the Deputy said, although I would not draw conclusions from the unfortunate announcements this week of job losses in Shannon and Cork. There are other reasons for those. In terms of the broader approach of ensuring economic development outside of Dublin and creating counterbalances of scale to Dublin as a driver for jobs growth and investment, that is exactly what the Government is trying to do.

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