Ms Eileen Mannion:

I thank the Chair and thank Senator Ó Ríordáin for the question. We are here today because of our absolute frustration with the lack of progress in developing the upgrade of the N59, which is the main artery through north Connemara and into Clifden. While 58% of Connemara is designated, we do not have an issue with this as the importance of protecting the environment is acknowledged by the people living in the area. However, we wish to coexist with the environment and to be able to develop our main infrastructure in particular. Clifden is 80 km from the nearest acute hospital in Galway. Consequently, someone in Clifden who experiences a heart attack, a stroke, a serious road traffic accident or any other medical emergency must, if he or she gets in a car, travel for 80 km to get there. An Bord Pleanála has admitted the road is substandard, which is why we have appeared before the committee. While we have no problem with designations, we wish to coexist with them. Tourism is a critical industry for the area. The witnesses from County Cavan mentioned a figure but last year in Connemara, Kylemore Abbey and gardens had 300,000 visitors, while Connemara National Park had 169,000 visitors. At some point in August this year, Kylemore Abbey was obliged to close its gates because of the numbers visiting it. However, people are being expected to travel on a substandard road to these destinations. The businesses in Connemara have been struggling throughout the recession to survive. They have fought to remain open, have cut costs and have kept on their staff. However, they are now concerned that with the lack of progress on the upgrade of the N59, their businesses will not survive and people will not come to the area. The Wild Atlantic Way has been a huge success and has increased visitor numbers but we must have in place the basic infrastructure to maintain our communities, which are extremely important.

We mentioned population and in the preliminary figures on rural decline released from the last census, the population of Clifden has declined by 17.9%, that is, has fallen from 2,613 people in 2011 to 2,145 in 2016, which represents a loss of 468 people. This is a huge number of people for an area to lose and Clifden is in the top ten areas for population loss nationwide. This loss will result in reduced school numbers and reduced numbers of people using local services or shopping in the towns. I note that among the surrounding villages, the populations of Letterfrack, Ballyconneely, Leenane and Renvyle have decreased by 28%, 15%, 15% and 8%, respectively. The population is declining all around us and we are fighting to survive. We need an upgrade of our road and seek positive engagement with the National Parks and Wildlife Service to deliver our infrastructure. We respect the environment and wish to work with it but we must coexist to continue.