Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I again take on board the views of Senator Nash again. The national planning framework is still only at draft stage. We purposely stayed away from naming new cities or new large towns. This is about trying to plan this country in a sustainable way and to realise the potential of all these larger towns, be they Drogheda, Navan, Sligo, Athlone, Dundalk or Mullingar, by giving them the resources they need in a planned and sustainable way. Through the national planning framework, we will have to cater for an extra 1 million people living in this country and 8 million people living on the island as a whole. We have to cater for an extra 600,000 jobs and an extra 500,000 houses. The question is how we plan and grow that in the existing cities and large towns.There is a lot of potential here for Drogheda and we want to realise that through the national planning framework and I hope that is what we can achieve as well.