James Bannon (Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister and other Members who contributed to the process. I also thank the departmental staff for enduring this long and often tedious debate.

There is much to be welcomed in the Bill. It will fast-track much development which is needed for the improvement of the country's infrastructure. The crucial projects are those related to transport, the development of our harbours, of the electricity network and the extension of the gas pipeline, including the development of spurs to the towns and villages that have not been connected. Natural gas is a clean form of energy and is important to the development of our towns and villages, especially in the midlands. We are starved of different types of energy and we must rely on electricity. Other forms of energy will make us more competitive. Wind energy is provided for in the Bill. I had a number of amendments to that particular section, but unfortunately they were not accepted. However, we will revisit this Bill in three years. The Government is encouraging people to develop off-farm enterprises and many farmers will chose to provide other forms of energy.

We support this Bill and we wish it a speedy passage through the Oireachtas. I thank the Minister for taking on board many amendments from this side of the House. This will improve the Act when it becomes law. However, much needs to be done outside the Houses. There also needs to be judicial reforms and we will need greater resources. The Government must also change its attitude in trying to bring about balanced regional development. I highlighted the shortfall in spending in the BMW region and this needs to be examined quickly. There are several major tourist developments in the midlands and in the west of Ireland, but they have been held up for quite a while by planning problems. This Bill will allow these projects to be fast-tracked and that is very welcome. We all want to see Ireland develop and become a proud part of Europe from a tourism, agricultural and industrial perspective.