Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire chuig an Seanad chun labhairt faoin ábhar tábhachtach seo. I thank the Minister for accepting the invitation to come in and talk about this very important issue. I wish him well in his role because his success is important for the region.

I know the Minister attended the Northern and Western Regional Assembly briefing last week, where a graph was shared on investment and the differences between the regions. The northern and western region, having 17.6% of the population, had 9.9% of the share of investment in public tenders worth more than €1 million and 5.7% of the share of investment in public tenders worth more than €20 million. Compare that with the eastern and midland region, which has 49.3% of the population but has 66.5% of the investment in public tenders over €1 million and 75% of the share of investment in public tenders worth more than €20 million. I know changing that is in not in the Minister's gift, and I am not pretending it is. It is not even in the Government's gift because State agencies are involved in the investment decisions that are made as well. I know the review of the national development plan will be hugely important in that regard but I think those figures are stark. Nobody is suggesting that the areas with the highest population should not get the most investment but the disparity between the regions is quite stark.

With regard to Senator Conway, and I know he has left the Chamber, he did not mention the transformative Waterford North Quays development, which I think is the largest public infrastructure project at present outside of Dublin. It will involve new transport hubs, a sustainability bridge and a greenway. It is worth over €200 million. I commend the Ministers of State, Deputies John Cummins and Mary Butler, on their advocacy and work on that, as well as the councillors and team in Waterford City and County Council.

Tá sé ráite go minic agam go bhfuil an t-ádh orainn san iarthar go bhfuil an t-údarás ag feidhmiú ar son na réigiún sin agus ag tacú leis na háiteanna fíorbheaga agus leis na comhlachtaí atá ag obair ar son na n-áiteanna sin. Tá sé sin fíorthábhachtach. The ongoing investment in Údarás na Gaeltachta is important, and I wish the Minister well on that.

The Minister mentioned the western rail corridor, and I welcome that. I know he is a strong supporter of that, as am I and many other Members in this House. I know the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Canney, is as well. It is hugely important that we deliver that project. We spent a lot of time carrying out reviews, analyses, a business case and everything else. It should be one of the simpler projects to deliver, initially to Claremorris, then to Sligo and then to Donegal. It makes perfect sense and it will be so important for the region.

The Galway city ring road is something that has been spoken about for so long. It is a major project. It is back in with An Bord Pleanála at the moment but it is hugely important with regard to our western region and Connemara.

Finally, on the investment by Irish Water, I know it will hopefully be getting some of the Apple money and will be tasked with investing in areas that can deliver housing. That is hugely important because there are so many communities across the west and the country that have the potential to grow but do not have the proper infrastructure in place. Continued investment in Irish Water, ensuring that it spends that money wisely for the development of homes, is very important and that is why the collaborative all-of-government approach, the work of the Cabinet collectively and the review of the national development plan will be vital. I wish the Minister well in his work over the years ahead.