Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Many of the issues Deputy Fitzmaurice brought up would be of equal concern to me, coming from a rural peninsula, Mizen Head, and a rural constituency, west Cork. These concerns are replicated across the country. I am involved in the Rural Independent Group and we all have the same concerns.

Last night, we met representatives from Vodafone. Mobile telephone coverage has regressed. Mr Parnell's explanation is understandable that there is much on a mobile phone that was not there before. At the same time, however, the mindset in all Departments and companies involved must recognise that they need to work with the local community if they want a solution. I saw with Vodafone last night that it is willing to work with us. Maybe something should have happened about this five years ago. One goes back to the local community if one wants to resolve an issue. As a famous west Cork man said, a pencil pusher in an office or pressing buttons on a computer is not going to sort it out. Once it is thrown open to the local community, it will be resolved within hours, if it is going to be resolved at all.

I was on a local community council in Goleen which got wireless broadband for the area when people did not even know what it was. We went after it and took advice from all over the world. Local people thought we were off our heads at the time because they did not know about it.

Broadband was first introduced in this country around 15 years ago. Unfortunately, no progress has been made in rural areas since then. While I acknowledge that many people are satisfied with wireless broadband, many are also trying to do business in rural areas and many people from rural areas living abroad or in cities such as Dublin would like to return home. Many of those living abroad have holiday homes in rural areas and they have made clear they would work at home if a good broadband service was available. We are hearing that broadband will be available next year or the year after. Unfortunately, I believe I will be applying for my pension before it is rolled out to my home.

The simple way to roll out broadband is to give communities responsibility. I assure the witnesses that if the Department provided funding to local communities, they would carry out a dig and lay fibre optic cable in every boreen and road. All that would be needed would be the connection. We listen to nonsense in the Dáil about rural broadband and millions of euro in funding being provided to this or that company. My hair will have turned grey before broadband is provided. In election after election, people tell me on the doorsteps that the service is not improving. Broadband should have been introduced under the Leader programme and funding should have been provided to communities. They would then lay fibre-optic cable before handing over to the telecommunications company to make the final connections. This is how to make progress in providing proper broadband in rural communities. If we do not do that, we will hear about millions being spent for another four or five years. Millions are flying around the place but nothing is being done on the ground.

We hear there are broadband officers in local authorities. I have never met anyone in the council who maintains contact with companies such as Eir. There is a housing estate in Bandon where 45 of the 65 households have broadband. One house may have a broadband service, while the house next door may not have it. This is madness and shows a complete breakdown in understanding.

The Leader programme has collapsed. I shuddered when I heard the European Commissioner, Mr. Phil Hogan, is carrying out a review of CAP. This could mean curtains for ordinary people. The Leader programme is a shambolic disgrace. Officials appear at meeting after meeting and if Deputies were honest, they would agree that the Leader programme is a shambolic disgrace. I understand the programme will conclude in 2020. There is nothing happening with Leader in west Cork. The Department removed the excellent Leader company which was running the programme in my area. The European Commission had commended it as one of the best Leader companies in the country. The local authority now has responsibility for Leader and nothing is happening on the ground. I am not pointing the finger at one individual but this is a major disappointment. The way to get rural areas going is from the ground up. People running tourism projects in the local community get things done but nothing is happening with Leader at the moment.

The issue is no longer raised. Previously, when I attended meetings to discuss funding options, I would advise people to seek funding through the local Leader company. I no longer mention Leader and instead advise people to try other options such as sports grants.

The Government made a big hoopla about rural proofing legislation and stated it would sort out everything. As I stated in the Dáil a couple of weeks ago, this was the biggest cod every discussed because the chances of any Government policies being rural-proofed are as high as me becoming the king of England, which, as the witnesses know, will never happen to someone with a name like Michael Collins.

The Dáil is discussing separate legislation on alcohol and road traffic. Have these Bills undergone rural proofing? When I raised this issue with the Minister for Health, he stated he spoke to stakeholders, and the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport told me he was speaking to stakeholders. I am not pointing a finger at the officials but we need to work together if we want rural Ireland to start rebuilding. Rural areas are great places to live and they offer excellent opportunities. The road traffic Bill should be binned until it has been rural-proofed, which the Government promised for all legislation. I was present at the discussions on forming the Government when this issue was discussed. I stayed to the bitter end of the discussions but we have been continuously misled by the Government that legislation would be the subject of rural proofing. The road traffic Bill should not have been introduced before it had been properly proofed and we had determined how people from rural communities would travel into their local town to the shop or pub. They will not be allowed to go to the pub for a drink from now on. The Minister is misleading people when he claims that the Bill has been rural-proofed. He indicated he would meet representatives of the Irish Farmers Association and other groups. He should have done that before introducing the Bill.

The legislation on alcohol will result in supermarkets in rural areas closing because a bottle of wine has been advertised. Does the Government think we are blind? Does it believe people will drink a bottle of wine if they see one in a shop? Will we cans of drink be placed on high shelves so that no child will see them or will sweets be removed from shop counters? This is nonsense. The Government is away with the birds and dreaming up schemes. It is as if we are all raving alcoholics who will go crazy if we see a drink. We must use our heads going forward.

In speaking about CAP, I will be slightly critical of the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Coveney. He does not deserve criticism because if it were not for him, we would not have a Government. As I made clear previously, he brought the Government together and he got little praise for doing so from his own crowd but that is not my business. I will be critical of his role in the negotiations on the reform of CAP. Deputy Fitzmaurice referred to some farmers receiving payments of €150,000, while others receive payments of €2,000 or €3,000. This is an absolute disgrace. I will not say what it was that the Minister and I nearly came to at meetings. These payments are totally unfair. The gap must be bridged if we want farming to continue. I do not expect payments of €150,000 to be reduced to €5,000 but they should be reduced to a normal level and payments at the lower end of the scale should be increased.

Fishermen's issues are not being addressed in the Dáil. Fishermen live in rural Ireland. When inshore fishermen were going strong, communities thrived but that is no longer the case. I have spoken three or four times in the House about fishermen whose lobster pots were wrecked during Storm Ophelia. No one gives a damn about these fishermen who are seeking a small amount of compensation to prevent them from going out of business. Deputies claim to be fighting on behalf of the people of rural Ireland when we are really turning our back on them. Storm Ophelia hit the coast with tremendous power and wrecked lobster pots. A compensation package should be introduced. At a minimum, the Government should engage in discussions with the affected fishermen who are under severe stress as they try to make a living. They are being totally ignored.

I could go on but I do not want to finish on a negative note. There are also many positive developments. For example, the Health Service Executive provides a small amount of funding for rural communities such as Dunmanway, Scull and Goleen in west Cork. Meals and wheels are bring provided to elderly people living alone with just a little funding. Rural areas receive a tiny amount of funding. Millions of euro in funding are provided in cities and nothing is done or it is camouflaged. It means a great deal to elderly people to receive a hot meal at home every day. The Citroen dealership owned by Denis and Mary Ryan gave us a van free of charge to deliver meals on wheels. A plethora of things can be achieved with a little funding. A little bit of funding will develop rural Ireland.