Is mór an onóir dom é a bheith i Dáil Éireann as a Member of the Thirty-fourth Dáil following in the footsteps of those elected to the First Dáil in 1918. I thank the people of north Kildare who placed their trust in me, the people of Leixlip who supported me as a councillor and my wife, children, family, friends and parents for their unwavering encouragement. Just like my uncle Dan and cousin Tom from Limerick, who served in this House before me, I am committed to working on behalf of the people with great dedication. The population of north Kildare has grown rapidly, yet the infrastructure lags behind. Urgent priorities in this regard include a second bridge in Celbridge, an expansion of the DART+ to Sallins and Kilcock, a reunified Castletown House estate, crèche spaces, water services, new schools and improved disability services. Our communities cannot afford to be left behind any longer. Thousands of new homes have been built, yet much of our infrastructure still belongs to the 18th and 19th centuries. North Kildare has delivered where other areas have lagged behind, but this has led to unthinkable traffic, stretched social amenities and little in the way of public resources. These are the everyday realities facing the people of north Kildare. I am here to be the voice of those people, so I ask if we can get the infrastructure and resources required to meet those urgent needs in north Kildare in the lifetime of this Government.

I congratulate Deputy Neville and wish him well in the years ahead. I look forward to working with him and I know he will be a strong advocate for people in north Meath, like his predecessor.

North Kildare.

Apologies, in north Kildare. I think we share similar challenges within our counties as well, especially with our growing population, young population and proximity to Dublin. I assure the Deputy this Government is absolutely committed to ensuring we invest in north Kildare in communities where there is that growth and increase in population. We are committed through the expansion of the national development plan and the national planning framework, which we will be sending to the local authorities soon and to which we expect them to respond, to be able to increase our response to this demand. I refer to not just looking at housing supply but to investments in schools, in infrastructure and in our roads. North Kildare will be supported to do just that.

I thank the Minister.