Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

I agree with Deputy Neville. It is important that local government, national government and State agencies work in partnership to try to drive forward the delivery of this infrastructure which is much needed in north Kildare. It is stark when Deputy Neville makes the point that when we look at Leixlip, Celbridge and Maynooth together there is a population of 53,000 people. As he says, it is almost the population of some cities in our country. I am satisfied the budget we have put in place has provided significant funding for sports capital, which is one of the areas Deputy Neville highlighted, so we can deliver community and sporting facilities, and there is more funding for community centres also.

On the local property tax, which enables and empowers the local authority to partner with us on projects, the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, tells me Kildare will get an extra €4.9 million as a result of the campaign that Deputy Neville, the Minister, Deputy Heydon and others highlighted on the unfairness Kildare was feeling in terms of getting its fair share of this. We will work in partnership in the times ahead but the message is received and heard clearly, and it is a fair one, that certain parts of our country are growing faster than other parts and we need to make sure the infrastructure keeps up with it.

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