Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

He will have to deliver more now in Roscommon. I am delighted he got the position and I wish him well. I also wish the Minister of State, Deputy Kyne, well.

There is a plethora of difficulties, as the Minister well knows, with regard to the west of Ireland. I and my party are of the opinion we must seriously look at the Department being decentralised to the west. The west, as a region, needs to have this Department in it and working out of the locality. It cannot be done out of Dublin.

At present, we have a withdrawal of counter services in banks, which is causing huge difficulties throughout the region. We also have an issue with roads. The Minister knows the N5 as he travels up and down it most days, as do I. The state of it is appalling. We have a complete lack of jobs. The programme for Government refers to balanced regional development. The Minister knows this is not happening. Where are the jobs in Roscommon or Galway? I admit the Government is doing a bit better in Mayo, but the jobs are not coming to counties such as mine and people are leaving. People speak about the unemployment figures reducing in our county. People are getting work, but they are getting it outside the county. They travel to Galway, Dublin or wherever they must go but there are no jobs in the county.

There is a situation with regard to the equalisation fund and local authorities. This is a massive issue. Recently, I spoke to the CEO of Galway County Council. There are difficulties at present regarding the council's finances, the need to balance the books and the amount of money it must give to the equalisation fund. The Minister of State, Deputy Kyne, knows this well. It is not an acceptable situation.

We must also look at the demise of the ESB and Bord na Móna. For years they gave a great deal of employment in particular localities but the goalposts have changed and a lot of the traditional work has gone. Fewer people are employed in my county by the ESB and Bord na Móna. We must also look at the position regarding Tús, SOLAS and rural social schemes. Much work needs to be done with these schemes. They are not satisfactory as matters stand. They were previously very beneficial to particular areas.

Revaluation is a huge issue, particularly for rural Ireland. The revaluation of property is causing consternation for many small businesses.

Many of them will close unless this matter is tackled by the Government. We can also talk about the rail services, post offices and planning. I was delighted to see the Minister address the planning issue in a comprehensive manner recently in the farming news section of the Irish Independent. I hope he will use his good offices to do something about rural planning. We all accept that there must guidelines and regulations, but the regulations have now gone over the top. It is virtually impossible to get planning permission in rural Ireland.

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