Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Department and all the local authorities represented here. The witnesses have given such eloquent presentations with some fantastic ideas. I am hugely supportive of the town centre living initiative. It is a great idea and one way of really getting a handle on the nub of the problem, which is the vacancy rates on our main streets and the lack of people living on them. On the main street of my town of Bailieborough I think there may be three residents left. It was once an old market town. Three people live over their premises now, and the rest of the premises are lying vacant apart from perhaps business units on the ground floors of the buildings. People are not living upstairs any more.

I have a few questions as much as observations. Will the witnesses give us an idea as to how the six towns were selected? I am really interested to know this because hundreds of towns could have been picked. That would be very interesting to know.

My next question is general, and anyone who would like to answer it can do so. Perhaps Mr. Hynes might have the insight into this. Do the witnesses feel town teams are as effective as town councils? I know that that was kind of the idea of the town teams and their introduction. Are they as effective? Are the local authorities able to deliver as much as they may have delivered with the town councils? Do the witnesses think the town teams are a good replacement of the town councils?

Ms Mulholland talked a little about her observations of the disjointedness of all the various funding streams coming at the council. Free Market and all the community groups we had before the committee last week made the same comment. Free Market, which is a research-based group, said there are lots of funding opportunities, but local authorities are scrambling to try to meet the criteria and the deadlines and find suitable and appropriate projects. Is there a better way? Free Market's observation was that there should be a coherence and a better synergy between various Departments or various funding agencies or funding streams in order that people are not scrambling around. Perhaps a more jointed approach could be taken in availing of the funding coming on stream and being able to make long-term plans. The biggest problem for local authorities is firefighting almost to have the plan ready, to be able to draw down the funding and then to meet the deadline for it. Is this prohibiting any long-term vision and strategic planning that local authorities may be trying to carry out for their towns?

Again, I think it was Ms Mulholland who talked about the arts community in her town and said it is a thriving aspect in the town. As someone who has come from that background, I know the usefulness of vacant properties to community arts groups that may be looking for venues, including temporary ones. Insurance is a massive problem for all sorts of industries, but how are community groups getting around that issue by using vacant buildings? Is this becoming a problem? Is it diminishing the ability of community groups to use vacant buildings? All local authorities could learn from this and the extent to which the arts are intrinsic to town centres.

Mr. Hynes talked about Galway 30 years ago. One third of it was vacant and derelict. We see it today as one of the European Capitals of Culture for 2020. The arts, particularly Galway International Arts Festival, have played a huge role in all that. Is there something in that model that we can use to ensure we deliver for all the towns doing magnificent work in trying to bring people back to live in them?

It would be remiss of me not to refer to the terrific work Mr. Clifford does for Monaghan County Council. He seems to know every aspect of what goes on within our local authorities and has been intrinsic in delivering for all our towns. As he knows, I see this on the ground in Castleblayney, having a constituency office in the town itself. I refer to Hope Castle, the Market House, the gate lodges - all these historically important buildings in our towns. They have been lying vacant, and local authorities have not had the resources to be able to maintain them and their functions. We must look at all these historical buildings, including courthouses and gate lodges. Hope Castle was once a hotel. It is another magnificent building in a town that could be a huge tourist attraction. Mr. Clifford talked about the millions in funding it will take to have them as functioning buildings again. We must ask, certainly in cases such as these, from where will the funding become available to allow us to carry out the strategic planning needed to see these buildings come alive again and be the attraction they could be to our main streets? There is huge potential here, particularly in Castleblayney. Mr. Clifford talked about businesses and their engagement, which perhaps has been difficult or, to use the word he used, "low". Does he see a way of overcoming that challenge, particularly with this scheme, to try to bring people back into our towns to live in them?

Mr. Shanahan's visual aid was very impressive in terms of contemporary living. Looking at the Dermot Bannons of the world today, I think that is where young people and perhaps the not-so-young are looking in that they want homes that are easy to maintain and that can be heated and convenient. Mr. Shanahan provided something that all of us could look at: a visual aid and a plan that could be implemented in towns across the country.

I could say something about all the presentations but I will not. I would like all the witnesses to comment on something Free Market said, which was that everyone is trying to do so much, and in many ways repetitively, because we are looking at towns individually and asking what the challenges are, what the populations are and where the opportunities are. If we had one overall organisation or research team in place, we could perhaps replicate what has been done in various towns instead of trying to redo and rehash things. We could look at models that work, that are strategic and that do what they set out to achieve, that is, bringing people back into our towns. Is there an argument for having an organisation that has a national function such that if, for example, Monaghan County Council were to come out and ask for an example or model of something that has worked in a town the size of Ballybay, we could just do it rather than having to research it and to come up with a plan?

I am afraid I will have to leave because I am due to speak in the Dáil on promised legislation. I will try to get back.