Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am glad we have had this opportunity. We are talking about a national framework plan but I am going to be parochial about it and I make no apology for that. I have a diagram in front of me which shows the motorways across the island of Ireland. It makes very poor reading for counties such as Cavan and Monaghan which have lagged behind when it comes to motorways and infrastructure.

There are many issues that need to be addressed particularly for rural areas and Border counties such as Cavan and Monaghan. We face many challenges, such as depopulation in west Cavan, deficiencies in broadband throughout the constituency, deficiencies in the road networks and the absolute need to open up the Ulster Canal and its potential for tourism in the Border region. After listening to my colleague, Deputy Mary Butler, I am almost jealous of the fantastic way she has described Waterford today. I am afraid we are less than the bridesmaid in terms of the type of tourism facilities she talked about, which is a result of lack of investment.

Access to County Cavan is abysmal. The N3 ends at the Cavan-Meath border. I do not need to tell the Minister of State that because he knows it himself. Former Minister, Noel Dempsey, was phenomenal in leading the charge on that motorway but unfortunately it ended at the Cavan border. It is as if we are the forgotten county. We have no motorway into Cavan town and continual traffic congestion in Virginia, which is stifling the growth of business throughout the county and does not provide the infrastructure that is so badly needed to encourage businesses throughout. It speaks volumes about the political will to invest in County Cavan. We are all the time being told by the IDA we do not have the infrastructure in place to attract what foreign companies are looking for when they are considering a location to invest in. That is evident in the number of IDA visits we have to both Cavan and Monaghan on an annual basis. We are talking single figure numbers; it could be one or two visits, perhaps three at most.

We need motorway status for the N2. We have seen far too many road fatalities and we need to see it upgraded to motorway status. More than ever there is a very strong case for the A5-N2 project. The project has the potential to unlock future economic development for Monaghan and Cavan, creating an immediate burst of employment with an estimated 1,000 jobs in the construction sector. The east-west link motorway is stuck at design stage. We need to see real action and a real commitment to putting funding in place for the east-west link corridor which is critical when we consider the motorways in Ireland. The visual aid I have with me shows clearly that all motorways leaving Dublin go to Waterford, Cork, Limerick and Galway. When one stops at Galway city and looks at this map, one sees that from Galway right across the north west and right up to Belfast there is not one motorway in sight. We are completely the forgotten half of this island. It would take very little in the grand scheme of things to invest in a motorway to Cavan or Monaghan town and bring some fairness and equity to the people living in the north west. The NPF must take a balanced regional perspective on the future development of the country. This means developing economic counterweights to the increasing dominance of Dublin. In applied terms, the aim of the NPF should be to enable growth across all regions while reducing regional disparities. While there have been criticisms that the concept of balanced regional development is too diffuse, we believe the concept of reducing regional economic disparities while not hindering across-the-nation growth is well-defined and measurable. In practice, it means achieving growth in all areas by attempting to reduce the share of national growth concentrated in high growth areas, such as the greater Dublin area. I am quite serious when I talk about regions such as west Cavan where we have seen a brain drain. There are no young people living there. They have no broadband or road access. The issue of depopulation in counties must seriously be looked at and west Cavan must be seriously considered when we are considering all of that.

Brexit further underlines the importance of developing an all-island approach to long-term planning. The island is acutely exposed to the hard edge of Brexit and needs to be able to work together to mitigate its worst ramifications. The NPF must work in tandem with the regional development strategy 2035 which charts the path forward for Northern Ireland. Aligning with spatial plans for Northern Ireland and utilising the institutional framework established by the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent documents will be vital to leveraging fully the overall potential for the whole island. The decision by Britain to exit the EU has consequences for the flow of goods, services and people on the island between what would then be a member state and a non-EU member state. The debate and discussions about the impact of Brexit on the island focuses on Border arrangements that might be introduced as a consequence. Traffic going across the Border needs good access points and there is a real opportunity here both with the N2-A5 project and by continuing the N3 motorway. The Minister of State should not miss this opportunity for balanced regional development. I implore him to make decisions that positively discriminate in favour of rural Ireland and stop the growth of a two-tier society.

The NPF should set out to strike a balance between delivering a strategic plan for Ireland over the next 20 years while also fostering the potential of places and the ambition of people. Central to achieving this balance is political will and ownership at local, regional and national level to allow places of varying sizes to complement rather than compete with each other. The national planning framework will mean little if it is not backed up by co-ordinated capital investment and implementation across each tier of governance from local government upwards. Aspirations for broadening out population increases and economic growth will only be achieved through a holistic approach.

6 o’clock

We call for a national infrastructure commission and a clear hierarchy of plans to implement the NPF.

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