Faraor géar, tá orm díriú isteach ar chathair na Gaillimhe arís agus an easpa infreastruchtúir atá ag cur bac láidir ar thuilleadh forbartha. De bharr na stoirme, tá spotsolas ar an easpa infreastruchtúir. Tá sé seo ardaithe go mion minic ach faraor, tá orm é a ardú arís. I raise the lack of infrastructure in Galway that is a serious block to development. The city is one of five cities identified in the national plan to grow. It is one of the five cities destined to grow, to a population of 120,000 by 2040. That is not possible.

The results of the storm in Galway city and county, particularly in the county, show it was one of the worst hit. As I stand here today, 2,750 homes, businesses and farms are still without power in Galway. The Tánaiste has described it as an unprecedented storm - it was - but we were well warned about it and that was something I raised this morning. I will use my time now to look at how that has put the focus on the difficulties we have in Galway for further development.

At a presentation last week at which the Ministers were in attendance, 11 projects were highlighted but top of the list, not in the way it was laid out but verbally, was Galway city flood defences and the urgent need for them to be progressed. The plan for this started years ago at €9 million and it increased to €50 million. The Tánaiste's ministerial colleague beside him, Deputy Naughton, is very familiar with it. We were told in no uncertain terms that unless that project goes ahead there cannot be development in Galway.

On top of that, we have an inadequate wastewater treatment structure. The collection network has been described as inadequate. A recent engineer's report, commissioned by Uisce Éireann, said one of the siphons under the Corrib Estuary was in imminent danger of collapse. We have an inadequate collection network; we have failure to build a wastewater treatment plant on the east side of the city; we have no wastewater treatment plant in Carraroe; and then, in Clifden, we have a treatment plant that is not up to the capacity in the summertime.

The Taoiseach is aware of this and I am aware of it but unfortunately there has been no progress. The city and county councils in Galway tell us they are two of the worst funded local authorities in the country. These are major projects. We have a national development plan and a framework telling us that Galway is going to grow. What I am highlighting today is that there are sustainable solutions to this. It breaks my heart to watch what is happening in Galway in terms of traffic congestion and bad planning.

I thank Deputy Connolly for raising the issue of infrastructure and I want to get straight to that. I acknowledge the huge impact the storm has had on people right across the country and most particularly, people in the west and the north west. I am very conscious of the fact we can read out figures showing how many people have been reconnected to power and very good progress has been made, but that is obviously cold comfort to the 12,000 premises that remain without power today. As the Deputy rightly says, 2,750 of them are in her own city and county of Galway.

I want to obviously thank the over 3,000 ESB workers who are working on the front line in very difficult conditions repairing power and I want to thank our European and British colleagues who joined in that assistance. The phrase "lessons learned" is a bit of a hackneyed phrase in politics but never has it been more true in terms of the preparedness that we need to carry out now for adverse weather events. It is absolutely clear that we see a very significant change in the climate and we see a very significant increase in severe weather events. That resilience and preparedness that we need to build up nationally and locally is so important.

The Deputy's question today specifically follows on from that because adverse weather events highlight the vulnerabilities we can experience in certain parts of the country and, indeed, in all parts of the country in infrastructure as well. I am pleased that meeting with the city council took place; I know my colleague the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, was there as was said and I am sure the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, was there too. We stand ready as a Government at the start of this new mandate to work with Galway City Council and Galway County Council on those infrastructure projects and the list they provided to Deputy Connolly.

I understand when it comes to things like the flood defence scheme, Corrib go Cósta, the funding is in place. The frustration that often drives people crazy in this country is the length of time it takes from an announcement of a scheme or a planned scheme to the delivery on the ground. That is why, as we negotiated our new programme for Government, we have placed a very strong emphasis on infrastructural delivery. We will see a very significant uplift, Deputy, in capital spending. That is objectively true and I think it will reach €95 billion by the end of this Government's term. What will be key for our citizens is whether they get value for money and whether the projects are delivered in an efficient and timely manner. I know that will apply to Galway as well.

That is why we have plans to expand the role of the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, with a particular focus on infrastructure delivery and a new division will be established within that Department to drive that forward as well. I am very happy to work constructively with the Deputy and other Galway TDs on those infrastructural projects, be it the wastewater treatment plants or the flood defence scheme. I also point out, and the Deputy would expect me to, that Galway has obviously seen a significant amount of investment over the last number of years in the train station, URDF funding, the new facility at the hospital, the plans for further developments and our commitment to try to get this ring road project moving too. I accept there is a lot more we need to do.

This is a city that is struggling. It is a thriving and beautiful city. Is cathair dhátheangach í agus tá a lán fostaíochta inti. Tá baic ann, áfach, ó thaobh infreastruchtúir agus ní inniu ná inné ó bhí na fadhbanna sin againn. We have struggled for quite some time. I am reassured, maybe foolishly and innocently, that the Tánaiste tells me there will be an emphasis on capital infrastructure because I have heard that, but what I am trying to highlight here today is that the city council is openly telling us that if the flood defences do not go ahead in a timely manner and are not funded, other development is off the table.

I have a particular view that Galway should be chosen as a pilot city for sustainable development and an integrated public transport rolled out with a light rail system put in. The feasibility study confirmed it is possible. Build public housing on public land and so on. I have my own personal opinions, which I am not shy in sharing, but the serious lack of infrastructure I highlight here today is a major obstacle.

I hear the Deputy and I hear her advocacy for her county and her region, and for good reason. We will review the national development plan and our capital plans. We intend to publish that as a Government in the summer period. This will be an opportunity to map out what the increased level of capital funding will mean for the lifetime of this Government and provide that pipeline of capital funding. It will absolutely allow us to not just deliver on the capital commitments that have already been made for many projects across our country, including in Galway, but it will also allow us to add new ones.

I want to re-emphasise a point that I genuinely feel very strongly about and it is an honest point to make. It cannot just be about the level of funding, although that is important and we will increase it - take that bit as read - we will also have to look at how we can make sure approval processes are efficient. The word "simplification" needs to be put up in lights here.

We need to be able to work in partnership with local authorities and State agencies. I do not level this at Galway county or city council but we do not need buck-passing or saying that something is for another agency. We need to come together and deliver these projects. I do not believe funding will be the challenge.