Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

Is Ballincollig on the south side or the north side? That kind of argument was used 30 years ago but the bottom line is that light rail will be good for every part of the city. On the Cork city task force, there has been huge investment in Cork over the last four to five years. I have indicated that we will be setting up a Cork city task force but we have to get the terms of reference and the focus right. I agree with the Deputy that the focus should be on the city centre but also the immediate suburbs around the city centre, including the old north central and the old south central, Douglas Street, Blackpool and all of those areas.

However, it should not be too broad. As the Deputy will know, there is very significant investment in the docklands, which has been fantastic. The northern distributor road will be looked at in the context of the roads programme. It should happen because of the incredible role Apple has played in providing employment in the area. Up to 6,000 people are working there and the transport infrastructure should match that. I will come back to the Deputy.

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