Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I started with six minutes and I am down to one and a half minutes and if I do not start now I will lose that. I thank the Minister for being here and say well done on his stewardship of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. I will have to condense my speech. The purpose of a national development plan should be to make Ireland a better place for us all. Perhaps in the past we did not speak as much about communities and places of leisure but they have become crucial. Like everybody else, I want to be a bit parochial and speak about County Roscommon and all it has to offer. I have already spoken in the House about coming here in 2016 and meeting a person from Dublin in the bar one evening. I was asked where I came from and when I said Roscommon the reply was that the person passed through it on the way to Westport. I want people to stop in Roscommon. I want people to look at the beauty of that county and study its history, and infrastructure is important for this. I thank the Minister for his support for the N5 project, which we are trying to get finished. The N4 runs through the county and there is a bypass at Carrick-on-Shannon. We also need a just transition in our locality. This is very important given the demise of the ESB and Bord na Móna. For 70 years they were the economic lifeline of our region and it has badly hit north-east Roscommon. I know the Minister is well aware of this. When we speak about a national development plan we must ensure the creation of extra jobs in the area is a priority in the plan. I know through the investment being made at present it is happening and I hope it will continue.