Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses. It is an interesting topic and it falls across two Departments. One of the interesting aspects is that the very real challenges we face in rural communities and small towns are not unique to Ireland. Urbanisation is a challenge that most developed countries face. There are perhaps factors that are unique to Ireland. In continental Europe it is maybe based much more around the strong village or town. The outlying rural area does not have the same density of population that our properly rural areas in Ireland do. While it is right to ensure that we build strong towns and villages, the rural communities around them are a big part of our identity. It is not about the village or the town alone. We cannot expect the town or village to do all the heavy lifting. I do not have a lot of significant questions, but a number of things occur to me. What is true in both cities and in more rural local authorities with responsibility for towns and villages is there is a need for a more aggressive approach to property. Some local authorities have succeeded well in proactively using the powers they have. Louth County Council has taken the opportunity to take possession of vacant buildings, bring them back into use and then make a plan for what use they should have after that. It sounds like Roscommon County Council has also done this but I am not as familiar with it. Other local authorities are more reluctant, and maybe the grounds for their reluctance are not unreasonable in that there are risks involved in this. The costs can increase. Will funding by cleared by government? While this is maybe a tangent, I will also flag that just over 11 years ago there was a referendum on the fiscal compact. One of the regrettable impacts is that at times when the national government is borrowing a great deal, it hugely restricts the abilities of local authorities to borrow for projects it needs, because it is added to the national balance sheet. That is a tangent, but it has ramifications. Our local authorities need to be in a stronger position to borrow for projects, such as taking property into ownership.

I represent Cork city. There are some towns and villages in my constituency, but not many, and those are primarily commuter towns. In our towns and cities as well as rural areas, some of what is not quite dereliction but under occupancy or under use of buildings is due to the dynamic of above shop properties. That is very challenging, but there is potential in our towns and villages for people to live above the shop to bring life back into our towns and villages. Is it possible to get a comment on that? I also note the Heritage Council's investment in Passage West, which is a tremendous town with such huge potential. It has a fascinating history and is close to Cork city. A big and relevant issue is that Cork County Council applied under the URDF to purchase the 8 acre dockland site. That did not proceed because the owner was not willing to sell. One thing local authorities can do relates to planning frameworks. This is a huge strategic site in the middle of a town. It is a narrow town in the way it is laid out. It is an 8 acre site with huge potential to transform the town and open it up onto the water. In those circumstances , the council can outline a master plan in terms of planning. That is an approach that can be taken elsewhere. In certain circumstances it is right for local authorities to take an aggressive approach to purchase property, bring it back into use and dispose of it in an appropriate way to private or community use. However, in certain circumstances where they are not in ownership of a piece of property, there is scope to outline at the next sale what they believe is the appropriate use of it, what they are looking for in terms of planning applications and how they see the future vision of the particular town. That is the bulk of what I have to say. I might come in again. A lot of our future and the strategy has to come from other Departments too. With the best will in the world, heritage and property initiatives are not going to succeed unless the enterprise initiatives and the things that bring investment and make it sustainable for people to live in rural communities are also there.

My final point is about Gaeltacht areas, and the deputy chair will be acutely aware of this. I know from speaking to people in An Rinn, County Waterford, that there is not enough property being bought there. People have to go into Dungarvan even though there is probably employment in that area. Ensuring people have a place to live in Gaeltacht communities is vitally important to the future protection of viable Gaeltacht communities. That is probably a bit around the houses, but those are some observations if people want to pick up on them.