Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

Progress has negative aspects and I want to deal briefly with the problems of progress I encounter. In my constituency I deal with issues on housing and planning, and many towns have remained stagnant. The eastern region has mushroomed and no matter what policy any Government has, one cannot stop that. One can seek to curtail it but it is difficult to get a company to relocate to one corner of the country if it wants to locate in the eastern region. That is an economic fact of life and we must deal with it. We can put certain incentives in place but we cannot prevent a company from establishing itself there. Companies will not be attracted here if they are not permitted to establish where the bulk of the labour force is located and where access to markets and transport is available.

We must put in place structures to deal with the difficulties that arise. Many towns do not want to experience what happened in Leixlip. Every town should agree to 400 or 500 new private houses and increase its population by a few thousand. However, for some strange reason, people by their nature do not like additional people coming into their area. Many of those towns do not have the internal infrastructure such as a bridge over a river, a streetscape to deal with the growth or it is too costly to introduce the infrastructure required.

We must examine the concept of creating new small towns as opposed to developing big towns such as Galway or Mullingar as in the national spatial strategy. Instead of these towns getting out of control we should examine the idea of taking the population that must move into an area and creating small towns with populations of between 3,000 and 5,000. I articulated this policy vision for many years but unfortunately it fell on deaf ears. The Government should examine it.

Wicklow has strange planning processes that people do not understand. A planning policy existed whereby only locals could live in houses sold in towns. With the exception of large towns on the east coast, if new houses were built, only people from Wicklow could live in them. That was a crazy policy and I was opposed to it. It was changed and now if a new development is built, 50% can be bought by Dubs, for want of a better word, and 50% by locals. It is difficult to agree with that policy. If I drive through Germany or France and see a scheme of houses being built in a town and on inquiring to buy I am told I cannot do so because I am from Ireland, I would take umbrage. Central government states that it is Wicklow County Council's decision but it is not. The decision was taken based on the strategic planning guidelines and the interpretation given to the county council by the Department. It is supposed to be applicable to Meath, Wicklow and Kildare. Meath and Kildare did not strictly follow suit but Wicklow did.

We also have a difficulty with roads. The N11 on the eastern side of the county is a good road and most of it is completed. However, the N81 on the western side of the county is one of the worst and most dangerous roads in the country. The national development plan mentions that it will be upgraded between Blessington and Tallaght. That national development plan finishes next year but nothing has happened with regard to the upgrade of the road. I invite anyone to drive along it. It is treacherous.

With regard to public transport, a second rail line is required on the east coast. That would mean boring through Bray Head. Perhaps we still have the equipment used in the port tunnel. Running a second line through Wicklow and along the coast must be examined. The DART runs as far as Greystones and should be brought as far as Wicklow Town, which is a primary growth area.

The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment spoke on education and either he or the Minister of State, Deputy Kitt, referred to lower class sizes. The Government made a commitment to have a pupil-teacher ratio of less than 20:1 in classes of children under nine years of age. It is no longer a commitment; perhaps it is an aspiration. The Government did not live up to it. During that period, 30,000 new college places were created.

Wicklow has sought an outreach for a third level institution because of the hit it took in terms of the increase in population during the past 15 to 20 years. We have not received any co-operation from central government. As recently as last week I received a reply from the Minister stating no plans were in place. However, the local authority and a developer have entered into negotiations with respect to buying the old Claremont college in Rathnew along with 60 acres. They will promote the project in conjunction with the Institute of Technology Carlow. I appreciate any support the Government can give to that.

I regret that the Government sought to use this time to spin propaganda. I thank the almost exclusively Fianna Fáil Government. We will remember that when we face the many difficulties in the month ahead.

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