Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Ceann Comhairle is making my point for me from the position of independent Chair. I note to the Minister of State that there is a parks department in Kildare. It makes my point even stronger. Meath is bottom of the table when it comes to Government funding. The average per capitaamount is €522 and that has been the case for years. It is not just a recent phenomenon and things are getting worse. I compare the €522 we get per head to the €1,388 Dublin city gets. Leitrim enjoys a spend of €1,115. In the counties surrounding Meath, the figures are as follows. The amount in Louth is €517 per person with a much smaller road network and the population is concentrated to a great extent in two urban areas. Westmeath has a population which is similarly concentrated in two large urban areas and the funding there is €750 per person. It is a bit less in Kildare, albeit still higher than Meath, at €639. The commuter belt is getting less money from the Department. That needs to change.

The population in these areas continues to expand and the problem is going to get worse. The Minister of State can see the building all around our county and the way in which the council struggles to provide the services the public expects from a local authority. The county council is struggling to provide a park in Ashbourne due to lack of resources. In Stamullin, the county council is struggling to provide a playground and it has taken a long time to provide a link road from Bettystown to Laytown. The facilities provided and the level of maintenance which takes place are not the same as one sees in other counties. Winter gritting is another classic example. For many years, someone travelling from Louth through Meath to Cavan would find the Meath stretch had not been gritted. All of the main roads in rural north Dublin near Ashbourne and Garristown are gritted, but the continued stretches of those roads into Meath are not because the council simply cannot afford it.

There must be a shift in mindset. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport has changed the way it allocates sports grants to counties which means those with larger populations get more money. I welcome that. It is essential that we get facilities. That practice will have to be matched by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. Luckily, the Minister of State, Deputy English, is at the coalface in the Department. I welcome that. He is working hard. However, this is something that must be addressed.

Meath County Council has long had the additional challenge of not having a massive rates base. I must acknowledge that there has been a complete shift in that local authority as to where its priorities should lie. While it performs the traditional functions of a local authority, it also focuses heavily on attracting industry to the area. I was in Dunboyne today where it was wonderful to see construction well under way at Shire and the Facebook data centre. Indeed, the Avoca restaurant construction is also under way. That is the type of industry Meath County Council is trying to attract to provide jobs and crucial rates income. However, that activity must be matched by the Government if our citizens in Meath, who pay very high property taxes, are to get the services they deserve.

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