Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this. As he will be aware, the NDP, published in October 2021 provides a detailed and positive vision for Ireland over a decade, involving total public investment of €165 billion.

The urban regeneration and development fund, URDF, was established to deliver more compact and sustainable development, as envisaged under this project. It currently partially funds 132 projects across the country. Focusing on Swords town, one URDF project was approved and provided funding of €375,000 to complete the development of a strategy to improve the resilience of the local economy and provide for an enhanced living environment. The draft sustainable Swords strategy, including the draft public realm and transport strategy, was published for public consultation in 2022. It was presented and agreed by the members of the Deputy's local council in December 2022.

In addition to this, the Fingal county development plan seeks to achieve a minimum of 30% of housing in Swords by way of compact growth. In 2023, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications will progress the delivery of its world-class connectivity and communications plan, the national broadband plan. Swords town is an area where commercial providers are either currently delivering or have plans to deliver high-speed broadband services.

In addition, transport connectivity is vital for the entire country, but particularly for an area growing as fast as the one the Deputy referred to. BusConnects is an important plan for our city. As the Deputy knows, a new network delivery plan is under way, which includes within it a stronger spine of public transport, including Swords, which is estimated to be delivered in 2024.

The Minister, Deputy Harris, has approved for Dublin and Dún Laoghaire ETBs the next stage in developing a college of the future to be located in Swords with a proposal to serve 1,000 full-time students.

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