Frank O'Rourke (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this issue this afternoon. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy English, for attending to respond. I wish to raise with him two issues that relate to the recent local area plan for Celbridge. One has to do with lands zoned or highlighted in the plan, at Hazelhatch train station in Celbridge. The other is to assist positively in helping to deliver the second bridge for Celbridge to allow the town develop and grow further as the population grows. It is currently over 22,000.

With regard to the lands at Hazelhatch train station, the reference in the local area plan is section 4.6. The lands are right beside the train station. The plan identifies them as key and strategic development lands. There is a master plan to be implemented as soon as possible to allow for the delivery of houses in the area because, as referred to in the local area plan, it is an area of key and strategic development. It is important to note that all the stakeholders involved in this area are ready to go but need to partner with the local authority or Department to make that happen. They are ready to go to make progress on the master plan to allow for the delivery of housing, which we all know is urgently needed.

The Minister of State probably heard recently from my colleague, Deputy Durkan, that the land in question is right beside the train station. It is about a two-minute walk from it. It is within a few minutes' walk from Celbridge GAA Club, Celbridge Tennis Club and a school. There is easy access to the M7, M8, M9 and M50. There are flooding issues in the area, on which works are under way, thanks to the assistance of the Minister of State's colleague who just left the Chamber, the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, who has been working with me positively on this. There is a site owned by the Department through Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board that has been identified as a location for two permanent schools.

This is all very positive. The lands at Hazelhatch beside the train station fit all the criteria and are not dependent on infrastructure to be developed. What is the process to get this started, to allow the master plan to be agreed with the relevant stakeholders and to progress to the delivery of the required housing and the services that go along with it?

I will now turn to the second bridge for Celbridge. The land that is zoned in this regard is referred to as 12.2.5 KDA 5 - Simmonstown in the local area plan. These lands have been zoned following a submission made by the Department to the recent local area plan. It will ultimately lead to approximately 1,300 houses being constructed. The difficulty is that this side of Celbridge cannot grow or be developed further because of the lack of infrastructure. The infrastructure required in this area is a second bridge in Celbridge to cross the Liffey and to alleviate congestion, reduce gridlock and help people go about their daily lives in an easier and more efficient way. We have been seeking this for 20 years or more and this is an opportunity to find out if it can happen.

I have had a very positive meeting with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, on this project. I ask the Minister of State to engage with the Minister, Deputy Ross, and then consider if he can give Kildare County Council the approval and funding it needs to allow it to proceed to route selection. That is the critical phase that will ultimately decide where the structure will be and the access roads to it. Then a design detail will be done and it will go to tender in time. However, we cannot consider that aspiration until the route selection is completed, which I am given to understand can take up to 15 months. It requires the commitment of the Department. Given that it is tied to the development of the town and particularly in view of the submission from the Department regarding the lands outlined for zoning, I hope the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government can work with the Minister, Deputy Ross, to give approval to Kildare County Council to get that done.

The bridge in Celbridge currently serves 19,000 vehicles per day. That is more than the traffic on most national secondary roads and some national primary roads in Ireland.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy O'Rourke for raising this matter and giving me the opportunity to discuss the advancement of housing development in Celbridge, specifically with regard to vacant lands, which have been identified as an area of key and strategic development, and to discuss the attendant infrastructure measures that have to be implemented to deliver this housing supply. This housing supply has been identified as necessary by Kildare County Council and certainly from a national point of view it is needed and sustainable, so we would be supportive of the key infrastructure that is required to open up these lands.

The Celbridge local area plan, LAP, for 2017 to 2023 was adopted by the elected members in August 2017 and came into effect in September 2017. As Minister of State with responsibility for housing and urban development, I welcome the fact that the plan supports the provision of substantial housing development in a key urban area close to Dublin. Kildare County Council in its county development plan has earmarked Celbridge to grow in population by approximately 10,000 over the next five to ten years. We must plan for this and for the infrastructure that is required to make it happen. We must ensure that Celbridge has a heart and soul, which means we need more than just the sprawling housing developments surrounding weak town centres that are so symptomatic of many Irish commuter towns. We want Celbridge to be more than just a dormitory commuter town; we want the population of the town to be part of the community and the spirit of the town. That is what Deputy O'Rourke wants too, and Deputy Durkan made representations to us on this issue as well.

As part of the roll-out of the local area plan and in the interests of supporting the integrated development of housing within the LAP, Kildare County Council is committed to preparing a transport mobility management plan to support the sustainable growth of the town. State agencies, along with my Department and the National Transport Authority, NTA, will be active in their support of the development of such a plan, which will inform future infrastructure development. That includes the bridge. I will be happy for my Department to follow up with the Minister, Deputy Ross, on that because it is a key part of opening up the lands on which we need houses built. Irish Water is in the process of upgrading the Leixlip wastewater treatment plant, which serves Celbridge, and is actively working to address identified constraints in the local wastewater system, in particular the upgrading of the local pumping station. These measures will actively support the ongoing and future delivery of housing in Celbridge.

Furthermore, my Department recently opened a call for proposals under the new urban regeneration and development fund, URDF, which was launched as part of Project Ireland 2040. The fund is designed to support the compact growth and sustainable development of Ireland's five cities, regional drivers and other large urban centres such as Celbridge, and to leverage a greater proportion of residential and commercial development supported by infrastructure, services and amenities within the existing built-up areas of our larger urban settlements. My Department has responsibility for implementing the URDF, which has an allocation of €2 billion over the ten-year period of the national development plan to 2027, with €100 million available to get projects moving in a meaningful way in 2019. We call that the A list. Projects such as the bridge the Deputy mentioned could be fitted into that if it can be moved through the system. It is important that the next stage is taken on the bridge and I urge all involved to make that happen in order that it can fit into this funding over the next couple of years. The fund encompasses the local infrastructure fund, which is also an activation measure to provide the infrastructure that is key to opening up land. It would fit into that, but it must go through the different stages. For my part, I will follow up with the Minister, Deputy Ross, and I urge the local authority in Kildare to do likewise.

The application process for the new fund will run until September 2018. Proposals that have been identified by local authorities must demonstrate that they will be: innovative and transformational urban regeneration projects; public sector led and with the option of community or private sector partners or both; matched by at least 25% direct funding from other public or private sources or both; a minimum bid of €2 million; a catalyst for development that would not otherwise occur; or likely to leverage significant further public and private sector investment. I have visited Celbridge. I was there when we were making decisions on the plan and on the directions we had to issue, so I am familiar with the town. I walked on the bridge, stood on it and parked on the bridge because that is what one does - one parks on the bridge-----

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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You would not want to stand on it for too long.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Exactly. The lack of movement on it is a key issue. It is important to see it moving.

Taking account of the criteria and objectives I mentioned, there is scope for Kildare County Council to submit proposals for funding infrastructure requirements for urban regeneration and associated housing delivery in the Celbridge area. I look forward to applications from Kildare County Council that support the regeneration of towns such as Celbridge and the sustainable development and delivery of housing.

Frank O'Rourke (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I acknowledge the Minister of State's positive comments. What is key here is to break it down to the two projects. One is the land at Hazelhatch train station. It is not just me or the Minister of State saying it is strategic land for development in the short to medium term, that is agreed in the local area plan. Many areas are depending on infrastructure before they can be developed but this not one of them. All the services are in place. The National Transport Authority, NTA, and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport are advocating more public transport. We are making submissions to BusConnects to get increased public transport in the Celbridge and north Kildare area. The footfall through Hazelhatch train station shows it has the least number of passengers using the station on a daily and weekly basis, so this is an opportunity. It is not sprawling development but cohesive development from the town outwards. The development is being brought in a strategic way to the services I have mentioned. I hope this debate could kick off that process because all the stakeholders are ready to go and are motivated to make it happen. We want to see how we can move that on in the short to medium term.

Regarding the second bridge for Celbridge, as the Ceann Comhairle said one certainly would not wish to stand on it for too long. Unfortunately, for most people who drive out of Celbridge each day it takes them 45 minutes to travel 300 m because 19,000 vehicles are crossing that bridge and it cannot cater for that. I am not being opportunistic and saying this is the Minister of State's problem. It is an historical problem. However, there is an opportunity now to solve it. Kildare County Council is willing to lead on this but it needs the green light from the Government, including the Minister of State's Department and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, so it can progress to the next stage. If the Minister of State wrote the cheque tomorrow morning it could not be built. It must go through a process. The Ministers must give Kildare County Council the approval to go through that process in order that this necessary infrastructure can be put in place for Celbridge.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy is correct that it is not any one person's or one agency's problem, but it is a problem for the community and for anybody who wishes to drive through Celbridge or to work or live there. We would be anxious that it would happen too. The focus of all the stakeholders - the council, local businesses, landowners, State agencies and the wider community - should be on implementing the Celbridge local area plan. Both I and my Department will work proactively with Kildare County Council in this regard in terms of infrastructure delivery and sustainable urban development. We will link with other Departments as well to try to move this along because it is important that it go through the different stages.

A new crossing of the Liffey is identified as a strategic infrastructural development for Celbridge and, in particular, Simmonstown. A second bridge crossing will form an important part of the transport infrastructural assessment for Celbridge as it will be a key item in the delivery of supporting infrastructure for the planned development of the town, again in a sustainable manner, to open up other lands to town centre development and also to open it up to housing delivery. We want to see Celbridge developed in a sustainable way.

The Deputy also asked about the land at Hazelhatch, which is in the vicinity of Hazelhatch railway station. This land has been identified in the local area plan as a flood risk and also as a key piece of land to be developed. I understand that the council has undertaken in the local area plan to continue working with the OPW and the Minister of State, Deputy Boxer Moran, on the extent of the flood risk and measures to deal with it. It is important that these lands are provided for future development as part of a master plan. The Department likes to see land use being properly planned via a master plan, in which a local authority takes the lead and works with local land owners. The flood risk issue will need to be addressed before plans can be put in place for use of the land, but in a sustainable manner that will develop Celbridge in a positive way for people who want to live there.