Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am well used to the Taoiseach's acronyms and how he can describe them. I will tell him one thing about Tipperary - we are not slow, whatever about an SDZ. In Tipperary Town, 5,000 people came onto the streets in good humour. I acknowledge the work that goes on there. The voluntary sector is huge. There is Tipperary Co-op, Brodeen Engineering Knockanrawley, the Canon Hayes centre and Moorehaven with 520 people. We want Government support. We do not have a fair slice of the cake. The rural regeneration and development fund has a budget of €1 billion, as the Taoiseach keeps telling us. Six applications have been made from County Tipperary. We are not holding our breath because we have held it before. The Minister, Deputy Ring, has said a total of only €55 million has been put away for this year so it is not happening. Will the Taoiseach encourage his Ministers to establish a strategic investment interdepartmental group? The people of Tipperary are ready, willing and able to collaborate and co-operate and we will show the way. We will lead the way if necessary but we need support from the Government. The Government has neglected west Tipperary and Tipperary Town as well as Carrick-on-Suir. They have been abandoned by successive Governments but this Government and the previous Government have definitely abandoned them. The Taoiseach saw it himself when he came to visit. He saw we had no bypass. Now he has gone off with the road from Limerick to Cork and abandoned the idea of the N24 from Limerick to Waterford that would go through Cahir. It was €400 million cheaper. I ask the Taoiseach to consider establishing this group. We will make sure it will not be a slow development issue in Tipperary because we will engage with it and make sure it works.

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