Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I am pleased to see this Bill before the House. I think I am the only Member present who lives on the peninsula of Donabate and Portrane. As someone who lives locally, I have been following with great interest the development of the St. Ita's Hospital site. We had a new distributor road open earlier in the year, which allowed for the site's further development and will allow traffic in and out of it. There is a lot going on on the peninsula, which is very welcome.

Generations of people living in Donabate and Portrane have had a strong and close connection with St. Ita's Hospital and I hope that will continue with this new national forensic mental health campus, when it eventually opens. Local people and jobs should be emphasised. Many people have been employed in construction at the site and I would like to see that continue when the facility opens fully. Can the Minister of State give us an idea of when the relocation take place?

On traffic infrastructure on the Donabate-Portrane peninsula, the distributor road opened but we are sorely lacking other public transport links into the peninsula. I refer specifically to the electrification of the northern line and the metro delivery, which are essential for the future running of the site. We are in a strange time, one where the public transport network is not overstretched because many people are working from home. However, when things go back to normal, please God, in a couple of months and this facility is up and running, we will be under severe pressure on the peninsula. I would like the Minister of State to bring that message back to her ministerial colleagues and ask them to deliver on the traffic infrastructure.