Mr. Eoin Doyle:

I am a director of services at Cavan County Council. I thank the committee for the invitation to come before it. The document we have submitted outlines in five sections issues of regional development, with particular reference to environmental designations with sustainable development as an underlying theme. I am very mindful of time. I will set out the context for County Cavan and our perception of environmental designations. I will refer to enterprise, tourism and broadband in towns and issues specific to the municipal district.

County Cavan has a population of 73,000 people. During the most recent intercensal period it received the second highest increase in population. It is very much a high-growth area. Traditional economic sectors include indigenous enterprise, building, engineering, food and agribusiness and we strongly assert it is a county with a strongly embedded entrepreneurial culture. It is very much a county which is independent in thinking and outward looking.

Regarding environmental issues and designations, the map that I have supplied shows that the environmental designations, be they special protection areas, special areas of conservation, natural heritage areas or Natura 2000 areas, are predominantly centred in west Cavan in what we refer to as the Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark or the municipal district of Cavan-Belturbet. Positive and negative points could be made about designations. In terms of negative issues or our concerns, there is no question but that designations can add costs to planning permissions, area projects and road projects, for example, the Belturbet bypass. While the bypass was a successful project, its cost and the length of time taken to develop it were impacted negatively by a designation. There can be a public perception that an area of high designation is not somewhere one would want to build. While national policy is to encourage the use of renewable energy, designations can be a disincentive its development. As to the advantages, we strongly assert that designations protect the environment, address invasive species, which are of increasing concern, and tourism and its development in high-designation areas are served by proper designation of environmental concerns.

I will take the committee through some of the regional development issues in Cavan. In terms of road infrastructure, 5% of our roads are national primary and secondary routes, meaning that our infrastructure is regional road based. We have no rail network. While our local authority has maintained our county road maintenance fund, there is a significant reduction in non-national roads funding and a concern locally that a deterioration in our road network may occur in future. Cavan once had the negative reputation of having a poor road network. We do not now, but we do not want to see that reputation returning.

On enterprise, Cavan has a strong entrepreneurial culture. Agriculture, engineering and building are important. Some parts of our county are very accessible from Dublin at an hour and a half from this building to Virginia or, possibly, Cavan town, which is good. Other parts are not so accessible. There is tourism potential, a high quality of life and a low cost base. We are strong on the food front. The annual Taste of Cavan event attracts more than 35,000 people and involves people like Mr. Neven Maguire, Mr. Richard Corrigan, Mr. Gearóid Lynch and several others promoting Cavan publicly. It is a strong local authority event. The Action Plan for Jobs proposes 28,000 jobs for the Border region. Our bottom line is that, in order to achieve that objective, roads, broadband and water infrastructure need to be improved in Cavan.

Regarding tourism, we are an increasingly popular destination, with 90,000 overseas visitors in 2016. The Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark is a good example of environmental designation preservation and tourism. It is the only cross-border geopark in the world. It is a co-operative project between Fermanagh and Omagh District Council and Cavan's local authorities. It is important at a political level, but also in terms of preserving the area surrounding the Marble Arch Caves and the Cavan Burren Park, which is in Blacklion. The Cavan Burren Park is attracting up to 30,000 visitors per year. Three years ago, it was only attracting a few hundred people. In this, one sees significant benefits accruing from environmental promotion and preservation.

There is nothing in my presentation with which members are not familiar. The national broadband plan needs to be rolled out to develop the county. Most of our county is in the amber area, which is the Government-supported area. Broadband is a fundamental factor in developing micro-enterprise in Cavan.

Our chief executive and elected members have prioritised town teams. We are establishing a team in each town, as Deputy Smyth is well aware. We aim to establish 19 separate teams in all towns and villages. Each town will have discretionary funding of a certain level - it will not be enormous money - to carry out works and try to turn itself around. It is a bottom-up project that we are rolling out. Cavan, Virginia and Cootehill have started and discretionary funds have been allocated. I might depart slightly on the Cavan-Belturbet municipal district and say that infrastructure and accessibility to the rest of the island are important. Blacklion, where my colleague, Councillor Feeley, is from, is close to an hour from Cavan. That is a significant distance from the capital.

The EPA guidelines on the treatment of effluent from domestic buildings pose a significant issue in Cavan.

We have heavy clay soils. The EPA code of practice, which is mandatory, could pose a significant disincentive to west Cavan's population if further research is not conducted and environmentally sensitive ways of treating effluent are not identified and rolled out. Rural depopulation in west Cavan is significant. This is an important cross-party concern among all members of Cavan County Council.

As to the political constituency, the division of County Cavan into two separate lots is, to put it mildly, unpopular. Cross-party support for the constituency's restoration is strong.

Cavan as a county has considerable development potential, but it requires additional roads, tourism and broadband investment. As a Border county, Brexit is a source of concern. Any devaluation in currencies could have a significant impact. There is anecdotal evidence at a tourism level that Brexit is already having an impact on some providers. Targeted investment to improve connectivity and support micro-enterprise is needed. Environmental designations, if properly managed as in the case of our geopark, can be an advantage to tourism promotion and environmental protection.