Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am going talk about the 2040 national development plan as it applies to the mid-west region. The plan was written in 2015. It is like a "once upon a time" story when one considers what is needed in Limerick. The plan later became the national development plan of 2019 and then the national framework, which is now the 2040 plan. I looked at the investment projects and programme tracker in advance of Leaders' Questions. MetroLink in Dublin is receiving €1 billion. The Luas cross-city initiative has received €500 million. The national children's hospital project has received €1 billion. The greater Dublin drainage scheme has been allocated €1 billion. The Ringsend water treatment plant has been allocated €1 billion. All of those projects are to be completed by 2025. I am sure they are all worthwhile projects, but what about the rest of the country?

The Minister mentioned Foynes Port and I stated in the Dáil last week and the week before that it is the deepest port in Europe. I also mentioned the dispersion of traffic throughout the country on more than one occasion in the Dáil. The motorway from Limerick to Dublin is nothing but trucks and buses. The Minister talked about Dublin Port and 97% of roll-on, roll-off traffic is coming through Dublin. Foynes Port is a perfect answer to achieve the reduced emissions that the Minister talks about. The perfect solution for dispersion of traffic is Shannon Airport, which can cater for 4.5 million passengers but which, before 2019, dealt with only 1.8 million passengers. People could not go through Shannon because they could not get connecting flights. It was not viable to run those flights through Shannon. The Minister must look for a new chairperson of Shannon Group and I ask him to look for someone who has a track record in business, who knows the Department and how to run the airport and make it work for the region.

The people of Limerick nearly had to walk the streets again last week to get the agreement in respect of a road project that was approved in 2015. What is the Government at? Some 60% of the towns and villages in County Limerick had inadequate water supplies on Monday. The sewerage systems of 73% of the towns and villages in Limerick are at maximum capacity. The development plan states that housing and infrastructure is to be centred around towns and villages in rural Ireland but not in the countryside. The Government needs to wake up and look outside Dublin.

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