Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

——we are getting over €51 million for the M2. That will make a major difference.

Other issues must be examined. A deal was done before the last general election by the IFA and the Government on the purchase of property for infrastructure. Having dealt with many farmers in County Monaghan in recent months, I am sad to see that deal has been completely ignored. The Government must look seriously at this issue. When property is being bought under a CPO, it must be done compassionately. Many farmers are being put out of business, while property owners are being seriously affected. Issues must be dealt with constructively and realistically. Why send people from Dublin to meet a property owner for the first time when someone could go from the council who understands the background and could construct the deal in a positive manner? When these affairs drag on for years, it brings rancour and distrust. We want to get the practical details right, as well as the legal issues. If infrastructure is to be delivered speedily and with the consent of the public, we must go back to the agreement between the IFA and the Government. One element is taxation, where farmers were guaranteed a roll-over if they bought other land because they were replacing land to carry on a business but that is not the case. If someone sells land under a compulsory purchase order to the State through the council or the NRA, he or she must pay 20% tax and a rate of 9% for the purchase and transfer of the land. The money he or she was supposed to get for the land is cut by 30%.

There are difficulties and delays in planning. A mill was burned down in County Monaghan and I went to see if the owners needed help. They said they wanted to have the rebuilt facility fast-tracked through the planning process. We met the personnel involved but when the final plans were submitted, papers were not transferred from one office to another, leading to a delay for months. The company eventually gave up. It had missed a deadline for the purchase of steel which meant it could not produce cattle feed for another season. Delays such as this cause job losses.

The most interesting case I dealt with recently was that of a biomass plant. I got the system through Brussels under the fifth programme. As a result, this House did not have to deal with it. It was only then that the problems started. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources talk about their great plans, yet when the plans for the biomass plant were submitted, they took 27 months to get through the system. It is claimed it was the result of boundary problems. Eventually planning permission was refused in the High Court and the case is now before An Bord Pleanála. This Bill is needed if we are to overcome such problems. I had the full list of dates of submission and examination for the plans and the times excuses were given. This practice cannot be allowed to continue. One company involved in the business pulled out at an early stage when it saw difficulties and applied for permission for a similar plant in west Cork. That plant was built in Enniskeane and now provides electricity. The project in County Monaghan is being examined by An Bord Pleanála. I sympathise with those in the area of the proposed plant because it was not initially meant to be located in that area but Forfás, which owned the original land, claimed it had all been sold, although there was a written agreement, and it pulled out. Such behaviour disillusions people. They put enormous work into an enterprise and every possible obstacle is put in their way. I hope this Bill will speed up the process.

Does the Bill cover cross-Border issues? County Monaghan has 100 miles of the Border and we must ensure similar problems to that I outlined cannot happen again. I ask the Minister to check this to ensure the Bill can avoid such hold ups in future. It is not fair to industry or those who put their money where their mouth is when putting forward such plans. I have nothing against the planning process; I am not lobbying one way or the other, but I want to see it move more quickly. Hold ups such as those on the N3 are not tenable. If such problems are sorted out in the legislation, it will be easier to create jobs in rural areas.

Railways are equally important in terms of infrastructure. Dublin has seen major improvements but where I live there is not a single railway; we are totally dependent on roads. When looking at infrastructure, the Minister must ensure the railway lines that are in place are not done away with because some day the country will re-establish them to ensure people can be brought into and out of the city with ease and in peace.

For instance, there was a railway from Navan to Dublin. Its return has been promised within the next generation, but it could continue to Kingscourt, taking a great volume of traffic from Cavan-Monaghan directly into Dublin without adding to traffic volumes on the roads. If infrastructure such as park and ride schemes was put in place, it could be of major benefit to those of us who must commute to Dublin city, into which we must drive in a single line of cars, with a bus lane beside us that is virtually empty. If there was a park and ride scheme along the M50, it would ease congestion.

I wish to comment on something mentioned by Deputy Costello, namely, the new Mater Hospital proposal and the need for proper planning. One must wonder about access and parking. We are saying, on the one hand, that we will decentralise the Civil Service, forcing staff at senior level to move; yet here we are centralising matters as much as possible. We have been requested by the HSE to attend a meeting tomorrow and told it will examine hospitals in the north east based on a study it has conducted without consulting anyone locally. The e-mail simply states it will brief us on the report from a London based company which would not even understand the situation in Cavan-Monaghan. It also states it will explain how it will deal with the report. In other words, it is suggesting it will take action on a report on which there has been no consultation locally.

There is also a proposal for a brand new hospital in Drogheda, to be built either immediately adjacent to Lourdes Hospital or on a nearby football pitch. Anyone who considers the area will see that Ardee would be the ideal site. There are already the Mater and Blanchardstown hospitals in the north east. I say to the Minister bluntly that he must take hold of the issues at Government level. The Chair did not give me a chance to raise it with the Taoiseach today, but as a Government and as politicians, we must surely accept some responsibility for how services are run.

The one issue that worries me about the Bill is that we are handing so much power to the NRA, a body which, like the HSE, is not answerable to this House in any real sense. It can be brought before a committee, but it cannot be brought before the House to answer the thrust of debate. That is the angle that worries me. I know we must have some independent body which can push these issues, but it should also be answerable to the House. The Minister must be able to attend on its behalf and tell us exactly what is being done.

See this speech in context