Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her response, which speaks to the issue I am raising. Again, she will sense the tone in which I am raising it. There is an awful lot happening and being built, but it is the co-ordination of these works that is the problem.

If I could take just three examples from the Minister of State's response, we have the Sword's cultural quarter which is closed at the Seatown Road. That is one project. The Seatown Road is connected to the R132, which is an old dual carriageway that is down to one lane for the foreseeable future. That is two projects. That is connected to the Balheary Road, where we have the new water main going in to allow for 3,000 new houses. That is a third project. That is three separate roads that are all in one network and are all closed or heavily restricted because of these works happening at the same time. This is impacting thousands of existing residents, and will do so for a significant period.

The works are happening and the homes are being built. Some infrastructure is going in to allow for more building, but there is a huge impact on the quality of life. There will be inconveniences, there is no doubt about it, but this is having a huge impact. People are unable to get to work, college and school on time, and will face those restrictions for the foreseeable future. There are no or very few alternatives because of the way Swords has been designed over the years. On top of that, we have the wastewater treatment plant and the upgrade works which are long-delayed and taking a long time. This is causing huge discomfort to Fingallian's GAA club, other sports clubs and people who cannot open their windows in a wide radius from that wastewater treatment plant.

The council and the Department are doing an awful lot, but there seems to be a gap in the co-ordination of these projects and the medium-term impact this is having on the quality of life for the people of Swords at this time. That is the point I am trying to get across.

The Deputy has a tone of severe frustration.

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