Kevin O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am humbled to have the opportunity to speak to two Ministers. I hope what I have to say is of some importance. The national planning framework is welcome. The last plan put out by the Minister, Deputy Murphy, was Rebuilding Ireland. It is sad to see the phrase "Rebuilding Ireland" being used. A lot of good work was done in the country over the past 20 years by previous Governments and this should be acknowledged and not overlooked. This national planning framework is a framework for the next 20 years. It is hoped it will not be just another aspiration. The national spatial strategy was launched in 2002, the initiatives and proposals of which were scrapped in 2012 by the previous Government, which is a pity because things might have moved on a bit quicker.

I accept that Dublin is growing rapidly. It is important it is not allowed to spread beyond the Pale as this would drive a further wedge between Dublin and the rest of the country. I refer the House to what happened in Britain. There are many reasons for Brexit. One of the main reasons for it was the disconnect between people from the city of London and the south-east and people from the rest of Britain.

Investment from the public purse is necessary. A framework of plans and proposals is no good without investment. It is important we know what funding will be put in place. The Government needs to have more foresight. We need to ensure that when we do invest, we get a return on that investment. During the crash, other countries under pressure spent additional money on infrastructure because they believed it would generate growth in their economies, and it did. I know that the American economy is larger than ours. Former President Obama spent money on the basis that he would get a return from it at the end of day, and he did. As I said, this plan is welcome.

Most of rural Ireland is still dependent on the agricultural industry. We cannot lose sight of that. Following on from the reduction in European subsidies, we must ensure a mechanism is put in place to ensure agriculture remains sustainable, not for large commercial farms but for family farms. Years ago, a farmer could have up to 50 cows on less than 100 acres and have a very attractive income.

9 o’clock

Nowadays, a farmer would need to have more than 200 dairy cattle and a couple of hundred acres in order to make a living. Members do not want such farmers to be put under pressure to borrow more money and thus end up not being the owners of their own operations. In Denmark, farmers have been burdened with major debts. We must be careful that such a situation does not occur here.

In terms of other sectors of agriculture such as tillage, beef or suckling farmers, we do not want to lose the tillage sector. I emphasise this issue because, in the context of the dismantling of the quota regime for the dairy sector, when the tillage sector was lobbying for its future, former agriculture Ministers told some farming groups they should give up tillage and begin milking cows. I do not want that to happen. The tillage sector can play a vital role in rural communities. Representatives of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine go abroad to promote beverages produced here by distilleries or breweries and make a big issue of that. The tillage sector needs to be looked after and that must be emphasised in any plans for the future.

Deputy Rabbitte said the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, who has responsibility for infrastructure, was here earlier but he is not here now. He seems to be very hands-off in his approach to running his Department. I hope the Taoiseach will come to my area more often to make announcements about infrastructure projects such as the construction of the M20. Clarification is needed on the status of that motorway, which would connect up the western corridor. Maps were shown to Members in the House this evening which depict that the west and south west have been neglected in terms of infrastructural upgrades. Very few major infrastructural projects have been completed in those areas. The two most recent such projects in my part of County Cork might have been completed by the previous Government but it is lucky that the Government before that took a risk and signed off on them. Those projects involved the constructions of flyovers at the Wilton roundabout and Bishopstown in Cork city. We need movement. I heard earlier that progress is being made on an upgrade to the Dunkettle interchange near the Jack Lynch Tunnel. Capital projects are needed. We need to invest and think ahead. Studies have proven that previous capital investments generated economic growth in the surrounding areas. Ultimately, taxpayers pay for such projects and they will want to know where their money is going and whether they are getting value for money.

We need further upgrades. When I first became involved in local government in 1997 I was a member of the South-West Regional Authority. That was before there was mention of the Celtic tiger. The priority at the time in terms of a European transport network was from Cork to Rosslare. It was one of the major network connections required, along with Rosslare to Dublin and Belfast. That was before there was consideration of motorways from Dublin to Cork, Limerick or Galway. The European Union considered it more important that we build a European transport network from Cork to Rosslare. That will be badly needed because if Brexit goes ahead, Rosslare needs to be urgently upgraded as a ferry and cargo port. The proposed route would connect Rosslare with Belview Port and my own backyard of Cork Harbour.

The IDA often says at local or regional meetings that big multinationals want to be based in cities or urban areas. A major employer in Cork asked his employees to choose between working in Fermoy in rural Ireland or in Cork city. The employees said they would rather the business be based in Cork. We must ensure that access roads are of a high standard in order that people can drive to work. The faster a car can move on a road, the less greenhouse gas is generated. However, electric cars will soon be widespread. They will become popular when there is no congestion or traffic jams because the last thing one wants if one is driving an electric car is for it to go flat in the middle of a traffic jam. That is why we must ensure our networks and routes are free flowing.

I mentioned the M20 and it is important that be put in place. I hope a guarantee that the M20 will go from Cork to Limerick via Mallow, Buttevant and Charleville can be incorporated in the national planning framework. I am not being parochial in asking for that because I come from Mitchelstown, which is in the east of the county. However, I want to ensure that areas such as Mallow are safeguarded. Road users must also be safeguarded.

All Members recognise the importance of tourism to the economy. In fairness to the last Government, it held The Gathering, which was a success, albeit its first in a long time, and it was a great initiative. However, it will be very hard to sell The Gathering in the future because rural Ireland will be gone. We must take cognisance of the issues in that regard. We have a Minister who is trying to kill various aspects of the cultural values of rural Ireland. I am delighted that the Minister, Deputy Ring, is in place in this regard.

See this speech in context