Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I said it last week on "Prime Time" on RTÉ, which was pitting Dundrum in Tipperary - a fine rural village - against Dundrum in Dublin with respect to property tax.

10 o’clock

It was said that we should table motions to keep the property tax that is paid in Tipperary in Tipperary and keep the equalisation fund. The statistics demonstrate that over 50% of Ireland's GDP, which is the total value of everything produced in this country, is generated in Dublin. This is despite the fact that an estimated 60% of the population live outside County Dublin. That is a stark statistic, and it is getting worse. These figures are from a European body. These figures point, yet again, to the absurdly disproportionate level of economic activity that is concentrated in Dublin. I walked down to the church on Clarendon Street to say a prayer. There are cranes all over the place and homeless people on the streets beside them, yet this Government is building offices. We want people to get back to work. We all do, but where are they going to live? It is nonsense. All the cranes are building commercial departments. There is no real interest in housing. Where are the people going to go? On the one hand it is great news for those living and working here in Dublin, but it also gives the lie to the idea that the rest of the country would benefit from a booming economy in the capital. It is a farce. There are many reports and much spin. The Taoiseach is now spending €5 million on a PR team. It will be no use. As I said about the budget, it will be like snow in a ditch. It will be like the fog in Kerry, west Cork, Kinvara or the Knockmealdowns in my own area that disappears at ten o'clock in the morning.

That the rest of country will benefit has clearly not come to pass, and it has been left to stagnate instead, particularly rural Ireland. The Minister of State knows that better than I do. He was shouting about it for years in opposition, when it was his job and his duty. Now he is trying to defend the indefensible. Even the European Commission in Ireland has observed that the figures here are way out of kilter with the majority of other EU capitals. Surely we can listen to that. I came back from Liverpool this evening where I spent two days discussing Brexit. It is quite clear why they left. There is too much bureaucracy, stagnation and bullying from Europe. The European Commission has also pointed out that in 2004 the shift in economic activity towards Dublin was the second highest in the EU, at 5.5 percentage points. That cannot be good. What we are continuing to see, therefore, is the total absence of any effective measures to address the massive imbalance that exists between Dublin and the rest of the State. This has to be addressed, not only at Government level but also at EU level, where perhaps consideration might be given to an idea such as making industrial grants conditional on development in rural Ireland. We have to do something like that because development is not happening. This would be consistent with the EU's own agenda of making areas with viable commercial and industrial centres.

So many concerns addressed here tonight centre around the idea of giving rural Ireland a fair and proportionate chance to thrive. We are not beggars. We are a proud people, and we want to be able to work, live, play, and support our clubs and our neighbours. Community alert groups are out tonight checking on their elderly neighbours. That is the kind of people we are in rural Ireland. We do it. We do not have the handouts, but we are entitled to our fair share. That is all we want, and we are not getting it.

Deputy Grealish spoke about the amalgamations in Galway. The amalgamations in Tipperary were an abject failure. It is a pity the previous Minister is gone. He spoke about the local government Act in 2014. The flame in south Tipperary is in the person of both myself and the former mayor of the proud town of Clonmel who have a case in the High Court challenging many aspects of that legislation. I had the privilege of serving that summons on the former Minister, big Phil Hogan, the enforcer, when he was having a cup of coffee in this House. He thought I had something nice for him, and he had a look on his face the like of which he had during the water charges issue when he spoke about the ordinary people and what he was going to do with them. The look was gone off his face after the next election. I served that summons on him. It is there, and is to be challenged.

I have questions about that amalgamation in Tipperary in 2014 which was decided on in this House. I was the only man to stand up, not Deputy Cowen, who was here as well, and say that we would be heard from again in another place. I could not call a vote because I did not have the adequate numbers, and it all went through nicely. How did he appoint executives from north Tipperary to take over south Tipperary a year before the legislation was enacted, or even discussed or debated?

All is not well. The people in rural Ireland are awake. The west is awake. West Cork is awake. Clare is awake. Kerry is awake. Tipperary is awake. Many areas that our group represent are awake.

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