Séamus Healy (Tipperary, Workers and Unemployed Action Group) | Oireachtas source

I express my sympathy to the families of the three people who so tragically lost their lives yesterday, each of them very well regarded in their own local communities. Claire O'Neill from Aglish in County Waterford, not far from the Tipperary border, was a cancer support co-ordinator. Fintan Goss from County Louth was a father of two and very much involved in St. Patrick's, his local GAA club. Michael Pyke, a 31 year old from Ardfinnan in my own constituency of County Tipperary, was a member of a very old and well-respected family that is very well-known in the Ardfinnan, Cahir and Clonmel areas. He has been described by all who knew him as a gentle giant and was doing a good deed for elderly neighbours at the time of his death. He was also a student at the Limerick Institute of Technology and a very well-respected one at that, so much so that flags flew at half mast in the college today and a book of condolences has been opened in his honour. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha dílis.

I welcome the debate on this subject which is, of course, not just a matter for Cork alone. Cork City, incidentally, has just won the League of Ireland Premier Division title with a draw against Derry City this evening. In debating this matter, we have to go back to the then Minister, Deputy Phil Hogan, when he effectively destroyed local government in this country. The abolition of borough and town councils undermined local democracy, local government and local services. Local services should be provided as close to their users as possible. Successive Governments' whole way of thinking on this has been all about centralisation, be it in local government, in health or in whatever else, and the idea that big is best. Big is not always best. Certainly in the case of local government, services and supports should be provided at a local level. In the past there was a very strong bond between citizens and local government, particularly where there were urban, town and borough councils. The councils that were abolished throughout the country should be restored.

County Tipperary was probably more affected than most counties. We lost Clonmel Borough Council, which had existed since the early 1600s and, through Mayor White, had seen off Cromwell in its time. We also lost the town councils in Carrick-on-Suir, Cashel, Tipperary, Nenagh, Thurles and Templemore. The abolition of these and other councils led to a huge loss of local democracy in County Tipperary and throughout the country. Some towns in County Tipperary, including Cashel and Templemore, do not even have local offices where people can do local business with the county council. The county has also suffered the loss of €1 million in road grants. This is not the only example of a loss of services. The effect of the lack of house maintenance and the introduction of tenant handbooks has been that tenants are now responsible for absolutely everything. This would not be allowed in the case of private landlords. The councils that were abolished should be restored and consideration should be given to the establishment of town councils in other substantial towns like Roscrea, Cahir and Fethard in County Tipperary. When will the Minister introduce proposals to re-establish the town councils that have been abolished? I understood that a report on this matter was to be prepared by June of this year but we have not yet seen it. I hope the Minister will bring forward clear, substantial and wide-ranging proposals for the re-establishment of the borough and town councils in the near future.

The motion before the House refers to the national planning framework, which is very important. As a previous speaker said, there is a huge regional imbalance between the Dublin area, or the east of the country, and the rest of the country. The south east has certainly lagged behind as a result of the lack of balanced regional development in recent years. The chief executives of all the local authorities in the region recently came to the Leinster House audiovisual room to brief Members of the Oireachtas from the area on the South East Action Plan for Jobs. The south east needs its fair share of development. This needs to happen on a balanced basis. The south east has the second highest unemployment rate and the second lowest growth in foreign direct investment. It has a smaller proportion of high-potential startups than any other region. There has been a significant brain drain from the south east. Some 67% of students leave the region to study and 40% of them do not return. Progress needs to be made quickly on the important question of a technical university for the south east. Proper funding and investment are needed to bring such a university into line with other universities. When the Minister recently announced the N20 project in Cork, we were disappointed that there was no reference to the upgrading of the N24 to motorway status. I ask the Government to ensure motorway status is given to the N24 in the near future as part of the capital investment programme.

See this speech in context