Shane Cassells (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is very welcome. When the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform was speaking earlier, he emphasised the fact that the national development plan was all about deliverability. Unlike sceptics who want to deride the vision for Ireland, I am a firm believer that we will see the very essence of this plan delivered and in doing so we will help the communities we all represent. The plan sets out that large blueprint on where we want to go as a country. When it comes to deliverability, which we all speak about, we know that the statutory agencies we have established on the ground across this country are key to ensuring that deliverability, whether that be in access to transport through the NTA, housing, the environment, planning through our councils and regional planning guidelines or through investment. That is what turns the vision into reality.Many schemes in this document will have cross-departmental advantages, in particular things like urban regeneration. That is a substantial component that does so much. Having identified swathes of dereliction in our towns that happened because of building on the outskirts, urban regeneration is good for our environment, helps our urban spaces and helps to consolidate growth. It ties into the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage's functions, new housing schemes, and bringing people back to live in our urban centres again. The plan, unlike other plans, ties Departments together and achieves goals that we want to see, and which we talk and pontificate about, become a reality. It is an incredible and honourable plan in that respect. It involves investment in our food sector, which achieves what so many people talk about in terms of sustainability for our rural communities. It would create employment in these areas, using the employment opportunities that exist and continuing to invest in them.

Some large-scale projects were mentioned here. I am happy that there is a commitment to the Navan rail line on page 87 of the national development plan. There is a commitment to fund the advancement of that. By the time of the publication of the plan, I noted that it was contingent on the National Transport Authority endorsing it. I go back to what I said earlier, that we need the statutory agencies we have established to deliver these things for us. I did not come here to pontificate about it, or to grandstand and make speeches. I bothered my ass to engage with the National Transport Authority over years to identify what it required from a planning point of view to make this viable. We knew that what was required was identification of population growth in key areas that would justify the expenditure of €1 billion to extend the line. It was spearheaded by Meath County Council and its chief executive officer, Jackie Maguire. A month later, when the NTA published the transport strategy for the greater Dublin area, I was extremely happy to see that it "will" deliver the Navan rail line. It did not state, "shall," "might," or "we will look at it in the future," but "will". Of the 4,000 submissions received by the National Transport Authority, 2,000 came from the people of Navan, which showed the level of engagement by the public. There is public hunger to engage with the Government and agencies when they work properly. This shows the importance of aligning critical documents and people understanding the process, which we are all involved in.

I believe that we will see the delivery of this project and others far sooner than those who like to deride it think. Planning is the most significant aspect. When the Taoiseach visited Navan with me two weeks ago and stood on the platform, he said that if we get the planning process right, we will see things happen far sooner than people might think. The Navan rail line can be delivered far more quickly than some of the more problematic projects listed in the NTA's strategy. That is why I am confident that we will see that project, along with a host of other projects in the national development plan, delivered, operational, and improving the lives of the people we all represent.