Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

One of our key challenges as we try to take a more sustainable approach is to build compact communities, which will bring less travel in cars and require fewer parking places, lead to more sustainable public transport and allow us to right-size buildings more easily. In many areas in constituencies such as mine, however, and I am sure in that of the Minister of State's constituency in Cork, there are long stretches where the only amenities are takeaways, bookmakers and barbers. We need to see a front-loading of investment in transport, education, childcare and sports facilities in order that these communities will have a chance to develop, and it must be a sustainable, social approach as well as an environmental one.

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