Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)

Funding announcements are very welcome but, obviously, what will matter is the delivery of projects and it is clear there are serious deficits in our transport infrastructure across the State. We have yet to see the detail of the plan and what projects are going to be funded and delivered. As Deputy Daly pointed out, the only project specifically mentioned in the NDP was MetroLink. As I have mentioned to the Minister many times, the west and north west is one of the most underdeveloped regions in Europe when it comes to infrastructure, particularly in respect of transport infrastructure. I can think of many projects such as the western rail corridor, the Gluas, many road projects and more that are badly needed in the west of Ireland. I ask the Minister to specifically outline how this plan will be regionally balanced. How will he ensure it is regionally balanced? Will he be applying a particular ratio in terms of funding, between the regions? How is he going to ensure that every region gets its fair share?

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