Just so the Tánaiste knows, Aontú does support the roll-out of sustainable energy across the country in partnership with local communities.

There is a major demographic change happening in Ireland at the moment. We had the GAA in front of the infrastructure committee yesterday to discuss it. Unfortunately, the lopsided development of the country is continuing apace. Two thirds of the population of the country now live on a very narrow strip along the east coast of Ireland. Most university-type jobs are going into the Dublin area. Most university graduates are, therefore, forced to work in the Dublin area but, of course, cannot afford to live there, so they have to live 30 km, 40 km or 50 km away and live in a commuter hell to be able to get to work. It is emptying a lot of regional areas of their young people.

Another aspect is that, in 2009, there were 75,000 children born in this State. Last year, there were 55,000 children born. That is an incredible collapse in numbers. Young people are losing the confidence to be able to have families at the moment. Plunging birth rates are already leading to some school closures and amalgamations in some parts of the country, and if it continues, it will lead to radically increased pension rates and healthcare costs for the generation that is already struggling to pay rent at the moment. What will the Government do to give parents the confidence to be able to raise families in this country?

There are a couple of aspects to that question. In respect of balanced regional development, the new national planning statement in relation to the ability to build a one-off home in rural Ireland will be a help. That is because there are many people finding themselves having to leave their communities due to a too-rigid planning system or at least an inconsistent application of the planning system across counties. That is one thing that can be done.

The Deputy will know I am going to continue to say that housing supply is really important, and we need to get 300,000 more homes built by the end of 2030. My Department has produced research in terms of Ireland 2040 and where Ireland will be demographically by 2040. It will be a very different place on the basis of a no-policy change. Therefore, I think of a number of policy changes. The Deputy mentioned the pensions issue. Auto-enrolment is a very important future-proofing step to take now.

I would also point out that there are many parts of this country well outside the Dublin area thriving. I spent a lot of time in Galway recently where there are key infrastructural projects we need to deliver, like the ring road and the BusConnects project. Down in Cork, there is the Luas project as well. I do not like the phrase "commuter hell". While there are very serious traffic congestion issues in this country, there are many parts of this country that are thriving and where people are proud of their communities, but they want to see us deliver infrastructure more quickly to help and we intend to do that.