James Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In Fingal we have experienced changes that made very little sense to us, with the capital of the constituency and Fingal divided in two at one point. We are now pleased to be back as one unit. I am not sure how one could avoid serial rows and accusations if there were a former politician on the commission. Gerrymandering is something that is strong in everybody's mind.

It is terribly important that we support charities and the great work they do - the vast bulk do phenomenal work. From my time as Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, I know voluntarism in the youth sector is phenomenal. Some 40,000 volunteers support hundreds of thousands of young people in this country. We are unique in terms of the level of participation we have. Whatever we say and whatever regulations are introduced in order to cut out fraud and so on, we need to continue to support charities not just with money but with moral support for the great people who spend so much of their free time supporting worthy causes. I agree with Senator Colm Burke. When I was Minister for Health I instigated the inquiry into irregular payments in certain section 38 and section 39 institutions, which led to the findings about the Central Remedial Clinic and others.

I refer to the census. I could not agree more with Senator Lombard when it comes to infrastructure. Fingal has the fastest-growing population in the country, a fact underpinned by the census, which showed growth of 8%. Therefore, we need to plan for infrastructure. I would like the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to outline the current plans for a metro. I would be grateful if the Leader would invite the Minister to the House in the autumn to give us an update on the current status of the project. It is essential for a young population to be able to access education facilities and businesses that wish to do business in north county Dublin. It is essential for the airport and its further development, and it is essential for international traffic to have quick access to the city centre, where people may wish to do business.