Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for having to leave the meeting shortly. I welcome the delegation, which includes some of my constituents. Senators are elected by councillors and I thank them for all the support they gave me over the course of the Seanad election.

I wish to ask a number of questions. The representative from Cavan mentioned Brexit and obviously that is going to be key for the Border region. Brexit will need a whole-of-government approach due to the impact it will have on the State, particularly the Border region. Is there an attempt by the Government, or a conversation happening among members of the Government, in respect of the Border region? How could local councillors contribute in that regard?

I wish to ask a question of the representative from Kells. I spent some time as a Minister of State in the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, and there was a push at that time for a kind of regional centre for the arts to be based around Kells and to promote Kells as a kind of cultural corridor. It was interesting that the representative from Cavan also mentioned having an emphasis in that part of the world around culture and heritage. What is the current position regarding that plan? It had great potential when we discussed it with representatives from the area.

As the Chairman said, when people begin to criticise the EPA and designated lands, I become a little nervous. However, I do remember in my own constituency trying to get a flat complex knocked down in order to get better housing conditions for the residents. It turned out that the flat complex, even though it was riddled with people abusing heroin and all sorts of difficulties, was listed. Therefore, it could not be demolished. It is still there, just beside Croke Park. While the listing system used by Dublin City Council is absolutely sacred and we never suggested that it should be interfered with, we found ourselves thinking of some way in which we could get around it. The gentleman from Connemara mentioned that there had been situations throughout the country with regard to designated lands and there seemed to be a suggestion that there are different things happening in different areas. I do not know if it would be appropriate for him to provide an example but if he could do so, it would be interesting to get the relevant information.