Mr. Johnny Guirke:

Councillor Seán Drew hit on it earlier: the biggest problem facing people in our area is that Meath County Council has the lowest funding in Ireland. If we got the national average it would make a difference of up to €10 million for people in Meath. We cannot afford to do without this money. In 2014, Teagasc did a report on 302 towns. Oldcastle came in as the eleventh poorest town in Ireland, while Athboy was 20th and Kells 74th. This survey was based on infrastructure, jobs, emigration, education and health facilities. People living in cul-de-sacs in the north Meath area will not see roads improved for years, given the amount of funding we currently have. I am not saying this because we are here today, it is the truth. Elderly and disabled people cannot walk on these roads because there are craters outside the door.

The north Meath area needs money. Towns like Kells, Athboy and Oldcastle require stimulus packages so money can be directly invested to get them out of poverty. The committee can help by pushing those matters for us.