Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to speak on the national planning framework. For many years I have called for a significant re-evaluation of the status currently assigned to the town and environs of Clonmel under the then national spatial strategy. We were ignored. I want to salute the members of Tipperary County Council planning department who engineered a significant review of the 2002-2020 national spatial strategy as part of their efforts to upgrade the importance of the town on a national level as far back as 2014 when the consultation process for the national planning framework had only begun.

It is clear at this point that Clonmel is suffering from what is essentially a failure to recognise the true regional and national importance of the town. The Minister of State, Deputy D'Arcy, is not too far away from it in the south east and he knows the areas himself. It is a proud town and a good town and we kept Cromwell out of it. We were under siege for ten days but we kept them out. We could not, however, keep big Phil out. The former Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government, or the enforcer as I call him, destroyed our town council, took it away and vanished it.

Under the then national spatial strategy Clonmel was still designated as a county town when in reality it outperforms many of the designated higher order centres in terms of key socio-economic strengths and the potential to build on existing opportunities. Clonmel may not have met the criteria but it is well qualified. We were sadly abandoned by the spatial strategy. That is not acceptable. It is a gateway.

We have now been let down again because we recently gave a proposal to the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Shane Ross, to connect with the M24. The Taoiseach and the Minister have announced the M24 route, prematurely I believe as the national development plan is not due until December. The Government has also announced the road from Limerick to Cork. We want it to come from Limerick to Cahir. We have a motorway from Cahir to Cork and Dublin, which is under-utilised. The road could continue to Clonmel, the land is earmarked for this road and it is designed. It could bypass Mooncoin in County Kilkenny, which is an awful place for traffic, and Carrick-On-Suir, and go right on to Waterford. It is about connectivity of Galway to Foynes in Limerick and the ports of Cork, Rosslare and Waterford. Anyone with a brain in their head could see the strategic impact of this proposal. It would save €380 million, being cheaper than the Limerick to Cork motorway. I have no objection to the Limerick to Cork M20 going ahead as it is needed also, but if we could save €380 million many other infrastructure projects could have been developed. It would be joined up thinking. In the context of Brexit the ports in Rosslare and Waterford become more important. I do not know if it was political but the Minister announced it anyway, even though there is only €15 million available this year to do the design. What was the point of announcing it? We could have saved €380 million. I often criticise him but in fairness to the Tipperary County Council CEO Joe McGrath, he and his engineers designed it and brought it to Government. It is a very good plan but it should have been given more thought and the two motorways could have been done together, in tandem if necessary. I am not anti the Cork road at all but this was an obvious link right through from the west down to the south east. It would create connectivity from Waterford to Dublin also, for tourism and for business, and especially with the impact of Brexit.

As such the existing designation is hampering our ability to become far more actively embedded in policy decisions that can create enhanced, globally competitive and dynamic economic conditions. These goals are, after all, the explicit aims of the national planning framework, or so we are told - one would wonder when we see what is happening.

We also need to see practical policy measures designed to encourage more balanced regional development. By any standard Clonmel is a significant regional player and that is why we need an urgent reassessment, which not only better reflects that reality but which also takes seriously Clonmel's central position at the heart of the recently defined southern region. This is very important. We had a meeting here recently about a south east university, attended also by the Minister of State. Clonmel was always the biggest inland town in the State. There are arguments now that other towns such as Drogheda and Athlone might try to outstretch us, but I do not believe they will.

We have strengths in Clonmel such as a strong research and innovation capacity and the availability of essential strategic infrastructure. I shall salute this foreign direct investment such as Merck Sharp & Dohme, Boston Scientific and Abbott Ireland Vascular Division. Clonmel Healthcare is vacant currently but hopefully it will get going again. We are very big in the pharma industry and I thank those companies for giving a commitment to Clonmel and the staff they have. I will fight my corner any day regarding corporation tax. They must be kept because of the jobs involved, the suppliers that supply them and all the taxes they pay. It is worth a fortune to our region and to the State.

It is my wish that many of the concerns emerging from a rural perspective would make their way into a reconsideration of the national planning framework. We have to do this, otherwise it is being rushed. During the debate on our motion last week with regard to Cork city taking over the county, and other counties are suffering the same, including our council amalgamation in Tipperary, I had said that the national planning framework cannot afford to become a source of uncertainty about rural rejuvenation. We have enough of that from other areas without it being embedded in this key document.

Many Deputies, including the previous speaker, Deputy O'Dowd, have spoken about Drogheda and the proud role of Drogheda borough council and Clonmel. There were 11 such councils that were banished at the stroke of a pen by the then Minister, Phil Hogan. I am supporting Former Local Authorities Éire, FLAME with its legal action regarding the abolition of these councils. We were told in the programme for Government that there would be a commitment to a plebiscite to reintroduce borough or town councils, provided that people wanted them and there was no cost to the State. We have no problem with that. The members who have served on Clonmel borough council, and many other borough councils over the decades, were not in it for the money. They were in it for the betterment of their towns, for tourism, for families, for housing and for everything else. They were active. I salute them and compliment them for their work over the years. We had a proud record in Clonmel, Cashel, Carrick-On-Suir, Durlas Éile, Templemore, Tipperary town and Nenagh. They all had their own councils and they were just banished. It is a big loss because decision making is thwarted and people have been shut out from democracy. That must not happen in this national planning framework.

We must think of rural Ireland. Lip-service is no good. Dublin is jammers. We walk out the front door here and we see cranes everywhere and the Ceann Comhairle has just informed Members, after a meeting with the Captain of the House, that we will have a crane in the grounds of Leinster House when we return after Hallowe'en. Dublin is alive and well. It is vibrant with building. It is not houses: it is all offices, which I also welcome because we need offices and companies coming in to the country post-Brexit. We also need some semblance of recognition that it is not all about Dublin. The most recent survey on OECD economic activity is that 52% of our economic activity is in Dublin. Yet, one cannot get a place to stay. There is no room for the homeless and there are social problems that come with that. We need something fair. We are not begging. We are entitled to our fair share. Tipperary is a proud county and we want Clonmel in the first instance and all the towns I have mentioned, including Cahir which never had a council and which is a gem in the eye and a wonderful tourism spot, to be supported.

I am delighted that the Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Boxer Moran, told me earlier that he has agreed to come down and visit Cahir Castle and Swiss Cottage. We want to show off what we have. The Minister of State, Deputy Joe McHugh, might come down to see it too. I do not know if he has ever been down with us. Beidh fiche fáilte roimh. He would be welcome.

We do not have a begging bowl out, we are a proud country that simply wants due recognition of what we have and support for our amenities and facilities. We want due support for the local authority and a fair crack of the whip on roads funding and other infrastructure investment. We have not been getting that for a long time now but we are entitled to it. We are not going to shut up and go away with a sop, as one might throw a fist of hay to a hungry horse. We are here to stay and will reassert ourselves in Tipperary. We will have the town councils back, running them voluntarily if the Government will not agree to it. We want a fair bang for our buck as regards rates collected, property tax and taxes paid.

We welcome the foreign direct investment companies, including those up the road in Cashel and across the border in Dungarvan. They are all pharmaceutical and we are the captains of that industry, even if the Ceann Comhairle might not agree. I make that claim here today and salute those companies for their longevity. Merck has been there for more than 40 years and the other companies have been there for a long time also. We want to keep and enhance them and we want the proper infrastructure to support them. We want traffic management plans and road designs put in place. We also have a proud equine industry. Although I might be critical of it in some ways, I am very proud of it. The Members opposite might have a flutter on our horses at the weekends. In fact, they have the chance to have several flutters on several of them given the number of horses Tipperary provides.

We demand due recognition in the national framework plan, which cannot be rushed. It should go back to the drawing board to look after those people speaking for other rural areas. Rural Ireland is stagnating and we are not going to stand idly by and let it die. I could quote a former Taoiseach who said something along those lines about something in the North. I am elected by the people to fight for Tipperary. We will fight and ensure we get due recognition.

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