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

First, the west of Ireland is not forgotten by this national development plan. It is quite the opposite. The whole point of this national development plan is to try to rebalance the country in the context of the over-reliance on the capital city and the east coast as an economic driver. As a result of that situation, we have people working in Dublin who live as far away as Portlaoise and further, who are commuting every day. This development plan is about changing that by focusing on quality of life, where people work, how they move around and being able to work from home. It is about investing in things like broadband, public transport systems, better rail systems, including commuter rail, light rail systems and so on, thus ensuring not only is the population growth outside Dublin in cities outpacing such growth in Dublin but also in rural towns and villages. It is in that context that infrastructure in the west of Ireland will be funded.

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