I ask the Minister about the needs of the east Cork area. East Cork is one of the fastest growing regions in the country. It is expected to deliver 40% of Cork County Council's future housing target growth. We have a population of 50,000 people. There is a new town being constructed in Water-rock, while €1.4 billion is being invested in the new Cork metropolitan area rail corridor. The problem we have, unfortunately, is with capacity for recreational facilities in the east Cork area. We are competing with developers for access to lands for critical community infrastructure. We are lacking a community pool and an athletics facility outside of the Midleton-Carrigtwohill corridor. Will the Government support myself and groups looking for support from it in respect of acquiring land for future needs? This is very much-needed for recreational facilities and future population growth. We know from current figures that the need is acute for this facility.

We all know as local representatives, because first and foremost, we are local representatives, how important it is that when we build new homes, we build new communities as well. It is not just about houses but about shops, community centres, recreational facilities, playing pitches, schools and all of the things we need to build a new community. It is important to get that right when we are developing our county development plans and that the local authorities look at all of these different options. In my county, we are working on a variation of our current county development plan. There will be a process in place for every county to develop a new county development plan. That is the time, working with our local councillors and local authorities, to ensure that any new planning is supported with these facilities the Deputy mentioned, or the space and zoning for these facilities.

Beyond that, we have a national development plan, which does not just focus on our critical infrastructure alone. Within that plan, funding can be announced by different Departments, whether for sporting agencies, community centres, active travel programmes and various other initiatives that we all we want to see advocated for. Working with the local authorities, it is important that work is put in place first.