Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This Government was elected at the lowest point economically and socially in the history of this nation since its foundation. It was handed the most difficult task of any country in the European Union, namely, to pick up the pieces and get the country back onto a sound footing. That task was further inhibited by the presence of the troika for a number of years which oversaw every move and all the decision making at Government level to tackle the enormous burden on it. It was on the precipice of a catastrophe. I would be the first to give credit where credit is due for the many manoeuvres the Government had to take to bring some form of stability to the country.

In the meantime, the public had to endure a horrendous few years, which began three years prior to the sitting of this 31st Dáil. The public took a hit as a result of approximately €30 billion being taken out of the economy in that period, and in its wake is a tale of hardship and adverse consequences for a huge majority of our population. The vital services of health, education, local government housing and general social welfare have taken the brunt of the impact in terms of the non-availability of the necessary funding in those areas allied to wholesale job losses. There is a huge indebtedness problem also, and the bank accounts of many people are practically empty, as we are all well aware. We also have the crisis in the housing market and the other issues that arise from that.

The younger generation has also taken a hit. It has been overwhelmed and stifled by what happened. The development of that human potential will be a great resource in putting us back on an even keel. In the meantime an entire generation of well educated and highly qualified people have left the country. They were fortunate to have that vent to secure fulfilling employment suitable to their qualifications in other countries. I hope their future in those countries will be short term and that they will return here in the near future. Those people are a huge economic loss in terms of this country's recovery. I hope they will be returning to a more prosperous and friendly environment. Part of the strategy in the Spring Economic Statement is that a substantial number of those in that youth sector will return here and contribute significantly to the improving economy but it is clear that unless the Government addresses the outstanding deficiencies and anomalies, the majority of those younger people will have no confidence in returning. The drain of our youth is continuing on a weekly basis and we must accelerate the recovery process to stem that exodus.

There is a serious shortage of well qualified professionals such as nurses in the health service. Our young general practitioners and consultants are leaving the country in droves to go to North America, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. That is creating a huge void in our health care staff. There is an urgent need for intervention by the Minister for Health in terms of having friendlier relationships with the people in that sector. Those health staff are vital and we need to immediately engage in an exercise to stem the haemorrhage. Prioritising health service delivery in a timely fashion is imperative, as is tackling the spiralling waiting lists for life-saving procedures. Those are the priorities we should consider in terms of this Spring Economic Statement. There are many things we can do to help the Department of Health with the delivery of health services. There is much wastage and overspend in some Departments, and steps should be taken immediately to end that.

Last March an announcement was made about the building of a new court buildings at a cost of €100 million. That was agreed and approved for Cork, Limerick and Waterford. Following the announcement a number of barristers and judges queried the potential value for money of those projects, given that a 19th century courthouse was the focus of a €28 million development in 2005, and this was one of the courts listed for a new build. In his retirement speech one of the senior judges, Judge Patrick Moran, who is the longest serving Circuit Court judge, asked for the project in Cork to be seriously considered. The existing 18th century courts complex is used for civil cases but under the new plan all criminal matters will handled in a €21 million state-of-the-art building. Judge Moran said he was taken aback that the Courts Service spent €28 million eight years ago on refurbishing the same courthouse. He further stated that senior judges were not properly consulted on the new plan, and he questioned whether it was necessary. That is an exceptional statement from a person of his status. The Economic Management Council, the Minister for Finance, who has just left the Chamber, and the Minister of State, Deputy Deenihan, who is present, will recognise that this was a disastrous proposal. Vital money could be utilised for our ailing health services to reduce waiting lists for those awaiting lifesaving operations and provide services for those with disabilities, for which there are huge waiting lists, community care and home help services.

The Minister of State, Deputy Deenihan, comes from my county and has been a good servant in this and previous governments. As a long-serving Deputy I ask him to use his influence - we will all try to help in whatever way we can - in the IDA situation in County Kerry.

What is happening at the moment is that there is a total regional imbalance. We are well aware of the fact that there is a huge concentration of foreign direct investment being attracted into the eastern margins, particularly Dublin. The county will nearly collapse into the Irish Sea with the weight of it. There is a huge tilt in favour of the east coast.

The Minister of State and I would be doing a great day's work if the Cabinet prioritised this to give us fair play in our county of Kerry. I welcome the new advance factory for Tralee. The Minister of State is well aware of Pretty Polly in Killarney, which was strategically located and closed within the last seven or so years. The site is in the ownership of Kerry County Council and a project should be got off the ground there immediately. It employed 900 people at one stage and the potential is there again for sustainable long-term jobs. I will rely on the Minister of State to put his weight behind this. We will all join with the Government as best we can to ensure that development takes place in Killarney and our other towns. The first day we stepped in here, 100 jobs were lost in Castleisland town. We must recover those jobs again. There was a sad cloud over the Kerry Members who sat in the Dáil that day. There are other towns, including Kenmare, Listowel in the Minister of State's own area, and Dingle. We need to look after the rest of the towns in Kerry and ensure there is a balance in terms of job creation.

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