Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for raising those issues. I am not going to get into the distribution of different projects or priorities today. I will say, however, that one of the areas of emphasis in the review of the national development plan is transport infrastructure. I am engaging with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on that. The focus is to identify what projects can be delivered. I know there is a great deal of interest in Meath in the particular project Deputy O'Rourke referenced. There are many projects in other parts of the country that are critically important in terms of both the delivery of public transport and helping to fulfil broader climate objectives.

Deputy Farrell is absolutely right that there is a particular deficit regarding infrastructure objectives in parts of the west. The continued uplift we are giving in the context of the renewed national development plan will help support infrastructure objectives for the west of Ireland. We are reviewing the national procurement policy presently. The Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, is leading out on that work, which we will be progressing over the coming months. That will dictate the overall framework about how procurement decisions are made across Government contracts.

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