Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)

The Deputy raises some very important points. I assure him that investment to improve our infrastructure and accelerate infrastructure delivery is a key priority of this Government. As I said earlier, over the coming weeks Ministers will publish their capital investment plans for the next five years. As the Deputy has said, it is critically important that Kildare North features heavily in many of these plans. The Deputy mentioned Garda stations, primary care centres and community centres. We need developments with that type of orientation. It is critically important. The national planning framework has been published. I am sure extensive work has been done on commuter bands and on areas where there is a requirement for additional health services, schools and public amenities. I look forward to seeing these investment plans. It is really important that they are detailed and that they include reference to Kildare North in many sectors, including transport. As the Deputy said earlier, if large-scale developments are being built, that development should be transport-oriented and support public transport, including rail and roads. It is also important that these announcements are not just published in isolation but as part of a collective plan. As a Government, we are very focused on increasing capital development and accelerating delivery. It is important that, through the newly established infrastructure development unit, we see these projects not only being announced but being progressed through the planning and procurement stages and delivered at pace. It is incumbent on us all to continue to raise the level of ambition and to ensure that the revised national development plan, to which over €275 billion has been assigned out to 2035, is delivered in full right across the country.

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