Ms Maria Byrne:

The Chairman asked a question on the Action Plan for Jobs. In Limerick, people welcomed the fact that the Minister came down and spoke directly. There were people there to give advice and there was interaction. People felt their voices were being heard, which was very important. It was not seen that everything was happening above in Dublin but that things were spread throughout the country. That is just a comment I heard back.

Senator Burke asked a question about Limerick and the amalgamation of the local authorities. We have had the amalgamation of Limerick city and county councils since last year, but we sat as two separate councils leading up to the local elections, since which all 40 councillors have sat around the same table. It has certainly involved a learning curve for everyone. Of the old city council, only six councillors were returned whereas a significant number of county councillors from the former county council were returned. The rest is made up of newly elected members. Some of my colleagues come from the really urban areas while my own area goes from urban to extremely urban and rural to extremely rural and is very diverse compared with when I was on the city council. I am covering everything from one-off housing applications to investment in the city centre. It is very different.

Certainly there has been a great deal of emphasis on the redevelopment of the city centre. Limerick city was governed by three local authorities previously. One had Limerick City Council, Limerick County Council and Clare County Council on the outskirts. A number of out-of-town shopping centres were granted permission with a detrimental effect on the city centre. We are now operating as a unit. Deputy Durkan referred to the Shannon Development lands and it is interesting that there is now a partnership approach between the educational institutions and Shannon Airport, which is in Clare. There is a joined-up thinking approach that was never there before. When I was first elected in 1999, the city operated as the city and everybody else operated separately. The joined-up approach has certainly helped. A number of my colleagues in the really rural areas see the city and investment in the city centre as a threat, however. This goes back to my reference earlier to Innovate Limerick, which we set up under the LEOs and the economic development unit.

They have purchased six incubation units, which are located not only in the city but the county, including the Andersen plant in Rathkeale which is an extremely rural area. Occupancy at this plant is currently 80%, with some companies having purchased part of the plant and the remainder paying rent. A further 20% remains unoccupied.

We have also purchased other key infrastructure. It is all about providing space, the returns from which will be invested in our economic development plan. There is more joined-up thinking now than in the past. We are on a learning curve. It will take up to two election terms before everybody is satisfied that we are all operating on a level playing field. However, this is the most positive thing that has happened and in the long-term it will benefit not only Limerick but the region in that we will into the future be working together rather than competing with one another.

In terms of the housing crisis, there are more than 5,000 people on our housing waiting list. Councillor Richmond mentioned that people in Ireland like to own their home while across Europe people predominantly like to rent. I spoke only yesterday to a person who has been renting a house in an urban area, in respect of which the rent up to now was €500 per month but has since been increased to €800 per month. It is an issue that needs to be addressed.

The Social Inclusion Community and Activation Programme, SICAP, was mentioned. The fact that funding for urban and rural development is to be administered locally is very positive. In Limerick, PAUL Partnership and the rural development companies now operate under one umbrella. This means there will be equal distribution in terms of funding provision for relevant projects. As regards the one-size fits all for the different regions, I do not think that will be the case. Each region is different and has their own difficulties and crises which need to be addressed. While the regions need to work together, the same issues do not arise across the board.

Local SMEs are covered by our economic development unit. Councillor Richmond referred to Dell. I was delighted to hear the 100 job announcements by the company today. While previously there were 3,500 people working at that plant the current workforce is only approximately 1,000, but it appears it is set to increase. While that is very positive it is important we do not put all of our eggs in the one basket. Job losses at that plant had a huge socioeconomic effect not only on Limerick but on the region because there were people working there from counties Tipperary, Clare and Kerry as well. It is good see a company increasing its workforce.

Recreation and sport was mentioned. All across the country we have fine facilities in this regard. The linkage between sport and business is to be commended.