Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will give Deputy McLoughlin three minutes.

Like previous speakers, I welcome Building on Recovery: Infrastructure and Capital Investment 2016-2021. As the Minister said, the Government is revising upwards its capital expenditure commitment for the remainder of the decade, and this capital report presents a new €42 billion multi-annual capital investment programme. Over the period 2016 to 2021, the planned investments will cement economic recovery and help to lay the foundations for continued growth and broad-based prosperity for the next decade and beyond. It is very important to have a clear-cut plan, as we now have.

I would like to point out some elements of this plan, including the commitment in the plan of €7.5 million for the Kerry sports academy, which is planned for the Institute of Technology in Tralee. Deputy Spring has a similar interest in this project. The Institute of Technology in Tralee is a key driver of economic and social development for County Kerry. It was established in 1977, approved by the then Fine Gael Minister for education, Peter Barry. It has more than 3,000 full-time students, employs 350 staff and provides a financial contribution of about €60 million to the local authority. In March 2014 the institute established a foundation to assist with fundraising for future developments, with the priority project being the Kerry sports academy. The director of the fundraising initiative was a former colleague of mine, Ogie Moran. We played together for a number of years. He has shown tremendous leadership in ensuring that this project will go ahead. The foundation also comprises people such as Dick Spring, the former Minister for Foreign Affairs; Stan McCarthy, CEO of the Kerry Group; Pat O'Leary of Liebherr Container Cranes; Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh; Oliver Murphy; and Bríd McElligott. It is a very powerful group of people. As we know, the institute has an esteemed international reputation for leadership in inclusion and adapted physical activity and is the only higher education provider globally to be awarded a UNESCO chair. This is testimony to the excellence of the institute's work in including people with disabilities in physical education, sport fitness and recreation. The sports academy is the next capital project to be undertaken under the institute's master development plan. It will allow sportspersons, able and disabled, to enjoy, prepare and compete to the highest standards. The foundation is confident, now that it has been granted 50% funding for the project, that it will be able to raise the remainder of the funds. To date, it has secured about €5 million, of which €1 million is from the institute, €1 million from the GAA, €1 million from the J.P. McManus Benevolent Fund, €1 million from private donations and €650,000 from Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. Hopefully this project will start in the very near future, and but for this programme it would not have got off the ground.

The other project to which I would like to refer briefly is the N22 and its importance to both Kerry and Cork, particularly south Kerry. The business and tourist communities in the south west are very dependent on it for connectivity with Cork and beyond. The Ballyvourney to Macroom section of the N22 is in very poor condition, and is widely recognised as needing immediate improvement. The National Roads Authority and Cork County Council have recognised this, and have successfully taken an improvement scheme through An Bord Pleanála, as well as other measures. I hope, now that it is included in the capital investment programme, that work will commence as soon as possible. All the necessary statutory approvals are in place, compulsory purchase orders have been put on the land, and advance work such as archaeology has been carried out. This could readily be developed under a public private partnership, for example, because it is shovel-ready and would not require any great level of up-front State funding.

Before I hand over to Deputy McLoughlin, I must mention that there is a commitment of €275 million for national broadband roll-out. One of the major disadvantages in County Kerry is the absence of high-quality broadband. There is broadband available, but it does not have the same speed and bandwidth as Dublin and other centres of population. We are finding it increasingly difficult to attract industry to Kerry because of the lack of high-quality broadband. It is something we have to improve. Eir has proposals, as does Vodafone with SIRO, but we need to see action as soon as possible. With this provision and the new national broadband programme, I hope it will be rolled out.

There is also €430 million in flood risk management. I was very disappointed that the Cashen River was not included, because the Minister has visited it and seen for himself how the system has broken down there. Because of silting, the measures put in place in the early 1950s are no longer effective, resulting in large-scale flooding, with thousands of acres of land being flooded and over 600 homes threatened. I hope this river can be included in the programme in the future.

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