Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I apologise for arriving late. I had another meeting I had to attend. This is an important meeting also. Evolving as a country and an economy is a challenge we all have to face in the future, without going into the dips and rises we had in the past. We are in a better position now than ever before to evaluate the effect of the things we did previously, how we did them, the sequence in which we did them and whether they were the right thing to do or not. I have great respect for Deputy Michael Healy-Rae and his views because they are usually down to earth. I am not so sure I agree entirely with knocking down buildings, although if they are obsolete houses and it is for a housing development, it is better, quicker and more effective to do that and rebuild. However, we need to keep an eye on it because I recall, after the financial crash, everyone was talking about how we had too many houses and would have to demolish them. Of course, they were wrong. We did not have too many houses; it just so happened that the market had slipped and the number of houses already built was built for a bigger market. That was the problem. As we now know, we still do not have enough houses and will not for have them for a considerable time. We have to think about the way in which we provide houses for an increased population and recognise that this is a new thing to us. We had a large population a couple of hundred years ago. We lost that population because we did not have jobs or anything to support that population in job creation. The Industrial Revolution did not come here because we were not regarded as a suitable place to invest in and develop the jobs market.

There are a few things we need to look at now as we proceed in the future. The benefits of the agri-rural economy should never be overlooked and cannot be overstated. When we were in really deep trouble in the midst of the economic crash, it was those areas - farmers and the pharmaceutical and tourism sectors - that put their shoulders to the wheel and held up the economy, took the nation by the bootlaces and helped us to recover. We should not forget that. There are people who would say we have to move on and it will not happen again, but it will. We must recognise that, whether we like it or not, it will happen again. It is up to us to provide and prepare for it and ensure we have a good foundation to withstand the shock and be able to call on various sectors to help recover the economy. There are those who will say we have to close down part of our economy because of climate change, which is not true. There are people in this country who have worked hard and made huge sacrifices to ensure we made a major contribution to carbon reduction and alleviating climate change.

We need to recognise there is an economic issue in this for everyone. There are those across the globe who will say while we must, of course, close down, we will not close down our own particular areas of interest because it is the farmers in Ireland or the food workers somewhere else. We need to realise everyone has a role to play. We must play that role well, not allow ourselves to become divided and recognise we are in this together.

Incidentally, on the issue of urban versus rural divides, in actual fact, it is the urban areas which will be the first to feel the most serious loss of a reduction in agriculture and food production. Let us never forget the European Union was first formed to ensure there would be an adequate supply of food. They knew what they were doing at that time. The story still resonates and continues. The need continues. We have to be conscious of that and do everything to ensure we have a well-rounded economy that is able to contribute to itself and to outside it. We have to compete in world markets at home and abroad. In whatever we do, we must always be competitive and have regard to the whole market, not just a chink of it. In whatever contribution we make, we must ensure we make it with the clear knowledge that we are doing it for ourselves and for those around us.