Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I welcome Mr. John McCarthy and the other witnesses. Last Monday, the Taoiseach launched the report of the Commission for Economic Development for Rural Areas chaired by Mr. Pat Spillane. That report sets out measures to be taken to address rural decline. Much of the job of work will fall to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. What practical steps are being taken to tackle this very real problem in order to build sustainable communities in rural areas, based on economic growth, as people will not live on fresh air? There must be jobs, investment and growth. Given that job creation growth is evident in other areas which are predominantly urban, we still have the problem of rural migration and young people disappearing from rural Ireland. What is being done in the Department and what measures does it intend to pursue as the way forward?
On the issue of energy projects and the whole side of community gain, once it has been established from a planning point of view that a particular energy project, whether a wind farm or anything else, is desirable and the way to go in a particular area, the issue of community gain must kick in. From the point of view of local authorities, so far as I understand, community gain is not on a statutory basis. Therefore, community gain is ad hoc. In some cases, depending on the promoter, some are more generous and more transparent than others. What is the view of the Department in respect of this issue and what will be done about it?
Are plans afoot whereby rural water would be taken over by Irish Water? Obviously, the problem in rural areas is the viability of projects. This is the reason many projects, whether water or sewerage, have not been delivered in the past. When we had the polluter pays contribution, as these communities do not have a rate base they could not come up with the equivalent; they do not have development levies that the council could put towards it. I come from Mayo, a rural county, where this has been a particular problem. I would like to think as well as having Irish Water that there will be an holistic approach to tackling this issue in rural Ireland. People want to get out of septic tanks. There are villages that could do with sewerage schemes. However, there is always a gap as they fall short of the mark. As part of the CEDRA report it is important that the infrastructural issues and deficits in rural areas are dealt with.