First, I apologise to the Ceann Comhairle for comments I made yesterday in this Chamber. It is appropriate when somebody makes a mistake that he or she apologise directly to you in the Chamber and I do so.

Thank you.

I raise the issue of the national planning framework and Project Ireland 2040. The Government will be aware that there is massive interest in Waterford in regard to the planned north quays development. There have been calls from some quarters in this Chamber for Project 2040 to be scrapped. While it should always be reviewed and we have to prioritise what is important, this development is massively important for Waterford. A tranche of funding was made available late last year and a second tranche of funding due in February was postponed until May. We are now well into June. When will an announcement issue on the next tranche of funding and will Waterford receive significant investment for this much needed development?

I thank Sinn Féin for its support for Project Ireland 2040 and the national planning framework. It is very welcome because it is an ambitious and important plan for our country.

On the project mentioned, funding was granted as part of the first phrase of funding under the urban regeneration fund, which was announced last year. That funding was category A funding, which meant it would be on the first call list for the second tranche of funding. We were to have announced that by now but we are still processing applications under the initial round of funding from some of the local authorities. This work will complete shortly. Following its completion, we will open up a second round of funding and for a longer period this time to allow some of the category B projects to apply for category A funding. It will open soon and will run for approximately three months to allow local authorities time to submit their applications. Given the status of the project in Waterford, it is well ahead of the rest in terms of being able to secure additional funding.