John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We are singing off the same hymn sheet regarding the south east. It has never ceased to amaze me since I first became a Senator 16 years ago that when investment in the regions was raised, Senators from the west would rise one after the other and support each other and their region and party political colours went out the window whereas that lack of cohesiveness in the south east was always apparent because of the rivalry between different counties. That is grand for the sporting field but it is not a sustainable way to develop the region, an economy or a society. Equally, when one considers the location of our region, it is within easy reach of Cork and Dublin and is accessible via three motorways, two rail lines, and three ports, two of which are of international scale. I was always puzzled as to why we had the lowest average disposable household incomes in the country and the lowest third level attendance rates, even at the height of the Celtic tiger. There was a brain drain The development of a university in our region has been an ongoing process, but at least the legislative framework is in place now and the two colleges in Carlow and Waterford are working together to bid for university status. Many young people leave our region and do not come back and the reason average household incomes are lower in our region than anywhere else is those who go on to third and fourth level education and earn higher incomes do not tend to return to the region. The region is also highly dependent on agriculture and tourism, sectors that do not tend to generate the highest incomes.

That is why I believe the development of the university which is an agonisingly slow process but which is starting to happen is so important.

On the issue of the boundary, decisions were made before my time that the report outlining the potential for co-operation between the authorities in Waterford and Kilkenny was not going to be implemented. The decision I have made is that we have to force co-operation between the authorities in Waterford and Kilkenny and also between other neighbouring authorities across the country. When I was a member of a local authority almost 20 years ago, meetings did not take place. I live 200 yards from the boundary between Waterford and Kilkenny and there were never discussions on matters of mutual interest and concern. Such meetings started to take place for the first time in the last couple of years. The structure about which we are talking will put that process on a statutory footing.

Senator Grace O'Sullivan spoke about the north quays. It is a landmark development for the region. In the future, when any Government agency, Department or organisation is looking at Waterford in the context of transportation or development, this structure will have the authority to make the decisions on zoning designation, land use and transportation and the economic marketing of areas. Waterford is a good example. The Senator's family are based in Tramore which is not considered under the national planning framework to be part of Waterford city, yet most of the people living there work in the city. I am not saying we should develop the space between Tramore and Waterford city into a sprawl, but one cannot look at Waterford city without looking at Tramore or the Port of Waterford which is in Slieverue, County Kilkenny. The new structure will be able to look at the entire area. On the boundary issue, it was never a runner because of the sense of county identity in Ireland which would not allow such a change to happen. However, that does not preclude us from looking at new ways of developing important regional hubs. Waterford is the capital of the south east and suffered during the recessionary years. Things are now beginning to improve in Waterford city, with the recent development of the Apple Market and the huge potential of the north quays. The new structure has not been thrashed out, but it will be part of the local government Bill which is due to be brought before the Government in the next few weeks and the Oireachtas by the summer. We will have an opportunity to have a further discussion on how it will actually operate in practice.