Mr. John Paul Feeley:

The lack of a local improvement scheme is symptomatic of a neglect and a withdrawal of support for rural communities, particularly the most disadvantaged rural communities which tend to serve people who are living well off the beaten track and who are very much in need of support to continue living in and sustaining rural communities. Reference was made to places being attractive areas in which to live. West Cavan, and indeed the entire county of Cavan, is a very attractive place to live but every impediment possible is put in our way to allowing those communities to survive and progress. My colleague Mr. Doyle referred to the EPA guidelines. The guidelines are another example of how half of the county has been sterilised when it comes to planning applications for permission to allow people to provide their own homes. This is having a huge impact. It means that GAA clubs are no longer able to field teams. While we have already had significant investment in the provision and improvement of primary schools they are now facing closure in the not too distant future because the new families are not coming in. People are not able to provide their own homes, for themselves, in the places where they want to live. Surely we can accept the advice from many architects and engineers where there are solutions that would provide very effective treatment of effluent from homes. Yet the EPA seems to be unwilling to look at the guidelines it has put forward and make provision for those types of treatment systems. It is just another example of the lack of support, and indeed the impediments that are put in place, for rural communities to sustain themselves or to allow them to build a critical mass of population to make the areas more attractive economically thus allowing small indigenous business to survive within a county such as our own. If IDA Ireland was referred to I do not believe that IDA Ireland knows where Cavan is. It is not that long ago since IDA Ireland was planning to sell its property in Cavan town. Thankfully that was stopped. However, IDA Ireland does not seem to want to take a progressive approach and make provision for business to set up there.