Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Thank you, Chairman. I cannot stay very long as, unfortunately, I have business in the House. I welcome the delegation and congratulate Ms O’Loughlin on her presentation. The submission is an extremely well-focused document which touches on all the points that have been of concern to many of us for a number of years, and it is no harm to discuss them now.

The fact that the submission from the witnesses is circulating now is useful. As the Chairman has just said, the matters raised will be referred to in the course of other discussions. We spoke previously about ownership of the European project, which is hugely important from the point of view of the person in the regions, whether he or she is in business, public administration or social Ireland. At whatever level people interact with the European institutions, it is hugely important that we recognise each other's existence and that the submissions made from each area of the country are taken seriously by European and national institutions. For too long we have seen intermittent development. For example, Table 1 on page 34 of the submission shows Ireland and the regions, including the BMW region and the Southern and Eastern region. Until such time as we achieve a balance in all areas of development we will not function in the way that was intended.

Whenever I hear the term “land use” I wonder what is meant by it. I would have thought that regional development should take account of the ability within a region to develop in accordance with the national strategy and the European strategy in such a way as to be able to avail of assistance and support from the European Union, not to the detriment of any other part but in its own right. Last night on television we saw pictures of flooding that has taken place in recent years in certain regions. We must also ask questions about climate change or global warming, what it means to us and how we can address it. I prefer to refer to climate change.

We must also address the question of energy, alternative energy and emissions and the extent to which we have a cohesive policy that will encompass what is best for our own regional and national development at any given time. The document goes a fair distance towards identifying the issues that exist. It refers to strengthening research, technological development and innovation. One does not have to be based at Dublin Airport to do that; one could do it in any part of the country. How one does it is by utilising as best one can the facilities available. One should not regard any part of the country as an outback or region that is not part of the central thrust of what we are about.

ICT infrastructure is hugely important. It brings with it the ability to develop and to attract industry and investment, both indigenous and foreign.

I am not certain that we are all singing from the same hymn sheet on the low-carbon economy. In general, Ireland is in line with the overall European objectives in this regard. However, a report could easily lead to a change in emphasis on the European Union’s part, resulting in Ireland requiring a greater input in the use of non-fossil fuels. We are particularly vulnerable in this regard, as our European colleagues have far more alternatives on which to draw such as nuclear power, oil, gas and fracking. These are all energy sources which we cannot use, although I have no particular wish to opt for nuclear power, for example.

There are scores of houses and housing developments which are boarded up and have been shut down in various regions. In the eastern region the opposite is the case where there are upward pressures on prices, as well as demand pressures on local authority housing, with a significant number of applicants for units on every housing estate that becomes available. There are no surplus houses in the region, which is the reverse of the national position. Development - the rising tide - is supposed to lift all boats, but it is not doing so in the way it should. If regional policies are adopted along the lines suggested, as well as the right investment and proper infrastructure, the regions will develop in tandem with the most developed parts of the country.