Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise the issue of the provision of a sewerage scheme for Shanagolden village in County Limerick. Shanagolden is situated in the western part of the county, west of Askeaton. It is a very old town dating back to ancient Christian times and has a great heart. However, it is prevented from developing because its sewerage scheme needs updating.

Shanagolden is in an area of great population decline where the exit from farming or the transfer to part-time farming has been very pronounced. There is a great need for an injection of economic activity into the area. The construction of a new sewerage scheme would ensure this injection. People have proposed developments for Shanagolden. A year and a half ago, one person proposed a €19 million private housing development for the village but it could not proceed because of the lack of the sewerage scheme. A local person proposed 12 apartments for the village but that could not proceed because of the same lack.

Last April, during a discussion at an area committee meeting of Limerick County Council, the assistant county manager pointed out that the council owns lands in Shanagolden in excess of its needs. The council was approached by a developer who wanted to purchase some of this land to build private housing, but because the sewerage scheme was not in place, this could not proceed.

If the Government were to respond to this issue, the entrepreneurs who see potential for development in Shanagolden would come into the village, develop it and bring new people to an area in decline. Shanagolden is twinned with Foynes, where there has been flooding and many sewerage difficulties, and the provision of a new sewerage scheme for Shanagolden would also overcome the difficulties in Foynes.

The Government is obstructing the opportunity for the village to develop. That opportunity may not be around forever. It may not be around next year or in five years' time. We have no indication, other than at election time, that anything will happen with regard to the sewerage scheme. The same applies to other areas such as Askeaton, Glin, Athea, Drumcolligher, Adare, Bruff and other areas where there is an opportunity for villages and towns to develop, yet they are denied that opportunity.

All the development is around the city of Limerick. We have no problem with that but in the rural areas we want to take the opportunity, while development plans are available, to bring them to those areas. In Limerick, villages are being downgraded to rural areas. Villages accepted as such under previous country development plans are now designated as rural areas. For development purposes, they are no longer designated as villages. We are asking the Minister to give us the opportunity, by way of funding, to develop those villages. In this instance, because the opportunity of development in Shanagolden is staring us in the face, we ask that it be facilitated.

I am also concerned that many of the parliamentary questions I table get responses related to matters that need to be attended to by Limerick County Council. I have discussed this with the council and its representatives tell me that much of the information required merely involves nit-picking. It is information which could be given over the phone and followed up on very quickly. This is merely an excuse to delay answering the question in this House. We ask the Minister of State to facilitate the growth of this village.

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