Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We have had numerous discussions on this up and down the country and many Deputies did not take the time to get involved. There are a few weeks left to have the conversation both here, in committee and in other forums. I hope people will take the time to have their views known, make representations and give us a chance to tease out ideas. Do not tell me in three months there was no opportunity for that. This has been discussed for the past two or three years. Most people have failed to get involved but there is plenty of time left and Members should not tell me in six months' time that they have missed out on a discussion or debate.

If Deputies consider the whole document, rather than reacting to those who spin against a long-term transformational strategy, they will see it contains many different kinds of practical planning and development and investment policies. These will benefit rural Ireland by driving planned and community-led regeneration initiatives aimed at repurposing rural economies to benefit from new technology, driving economic activities and new living possibilities. It is about growing our regions outside Dublin and the east by more than would occur under a "business as usual" scenario and improving connectivity to weaker areas of our country, including the northern and western parts of Ireland. I can provide a statistic the Deputies might not like agreeing with. One can review job creation in 2016 and most of 2017 and see that more than 70% of all new jobs created are outside cities. They are in the regions and that includes the likes of Galway. That is a fact; I am not making up. That comes from long-term planning. It came from the Action Plan for Jobs and specifically a regional process to ensure jobs were pushed to the regions. This is getting results. It is about making a plan.

We must all understand and accept the traditional economic structure of rural Ireland is changing. Agriculture, the food sector, tourism and many traditional pillars of the rural economies must play their part in the implementation of the national planning framework but it is also necessary to create new opportunities for the renewal and revival of rural economies. In many smaller towns and villages across rural Ireland, one will see many empty buildings, closed shops and schools that are under threat. We must get people living in those empty streets and buildings again and must give then a purpose to be there. I accept we must encourage and fund this.

See this speech in context