Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to raise this important issue. It is one I raised previously when I was a Member of the Seanad and, indeed, it has been raised by many members of the local authority in County Meath, including by my colleague, Councillor Seán Smith. It is an issue related to the continuation of the good relations the community has with the Department of Education and Skills in Ashbourne. It is fair to say that. While not everything is perfect in regard to schooling in Ashbourne, there have been significant improvements. Many buildings have gone up and schools are pretty happy with them. As a result, a substantial 16 acres of land in the ownership of the Department of Education and Skills is now available on either side of a main road in Ashbourne. Local authority members, including my colleague, Councillor Smith, and organisations such as the Ashbourne Playspace Network, would love to see the land come into local ownership. It is already in public ownership, but they would see it come into local ownership to form part of what is called the "linear park" for Ashbourne. This land would be a significant amount of land for a park.

Ashbourne is a town with a population of approximately 11,000 at the time of the last census and, obviously, there are surrounding areas too. The town has no public park and limited green space. It is a burning desire of the people, as Deputy McEntee will also know, to have their own park. This issue goes back over many years to flawed development plans which did not provide enough parkland. While improvements are being made and there is a currently a Part 8 planning application in regard to a linear park in Ashbourne, the land the Department of Education and Skills owns would be a significant addition and would improve the town no end. It would contribute to national objectives on healthier living, getting together with friends, exercising dogs and doing things people should be able to enjoy. I am sure that if the Department wants the schools to have a special role on the land, there would be no objection. That is a matter for another day.

Shortly after I raised the matter in the Seanad a year and a half ago, the Department met the local authority and an evaluation report was carried out. I understand that talks have taken place between the local authority and the Department of Education and Skills, which is welcome and encouraging. While I am happy with that, we would like to see some finality on this. It is within the gift of the Department for this to happen and I would love to see an imaginative arrangement to ensure that it goes ahead and that a park is available for the town which, in every other respect, is a fantastic place to live. A few years ago, it was given the Retail Excellence Ireland award for fourth-best town for shopping in Ireland. In fairness, there has been a huge investment in the cycle lanes and schools in Ashbourne. By and large, it is a pretty good place to live and we are just trying to tidy up some pretty important aspects of it, including the provision of a park. Everybody will work together on it. I would be delighted to hear the Minister of State's response on what is a net issue yet one which would have significant benefits and good consequences for the public if there were final movement on it.

See this speech in context