Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am disappointed with the Government's counter-motion. I support the motion but I do not support the designation of sites, as I believe that is a matter for Government in the context of Rebuilding Ireland, in which it is stated that together with local authorities the Government will source sites for this process. At the very least, I expected the Minister of State, Deputy English, to acknowledge the failure of the Government to meet the objective mentioned earlier by Deputy Curran. When Rebuilding Ireland was produced, we all acknowledged it contained many credible actions within it and we all hoped it would achieve its objective. Along with others, Fianna Fáil played its part in feeding into that process by way of the all-party committee, the recommendations of which were only partly taken on board by the Government. That said, it was always going to be about implementation and the action matching the rhetoric but, unfortunately, that has not proven to be the case. Far be it for me to go over old ground and talk about how this crisis has progressively worsened over the past months and years, but I had hoped that the Minister of State, Deputy English, would be man enough tonight to admit that the objective of Rebuilding Ireland has not been met. During the debate on budget 2015, the Government stated the proceeds from the sale of Bord Gáis Energy would yield €400 million and that that money would be used for this very purpose but that has not happened. It is incumbent on the Minister of State, Deputy English, to inform the House during this debate, and by association the public, why he has failed in this instance, why he has not identified sites or whose responsibility it was to identify them. Who is culpable and who is accountable? Where is the transparency we were promised?

I congratulate the Deputies who brought forward this motion, which is very specific in terms of how this issue is to be progressed. I agree with the concept proposed by them, as everybody does, including the Government, but it is incumbent on Government to show some humility now and then. In this instance, it needs to acknowledge its failings and tell us what went wrong and why it went wrong and to acknowledge the recommendations from all sides of the House to move this process forward. If the issue is delays in respect of the European Investment Bank, there are other concepts, models and funding methods that can be utilised without relying that institution. There is a vehicle that could be put in place and would provide the 51% public finance such that we could meet the criteria in relation to EUROSTAT. The Government has gone only half way in terms of acknowledging the contribution that credit unions, among others, want to make. They can provide the necessary finance and the Minister of State can provide the land. This would result in minimal site costs and allow us to replicate the success of the Ó Cualann model in many parts of the city and, if needs be, many parts of the country.

As I said in this House last week when talking to the Minister, all sections of society and all of those affected by this crisis want an option that is affordable and meets their needs, irrespective of what level of the spectrum they are on.

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