Dáil debates

Wednesday, 10 April 2019

Rural and Community Development: Statements

 

8:10 pm

Photo of Martin FerrisMartin Ferris (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I live in rural Ireland. I love rural Ireland. It is a way of life that I was born into and grew up in. I have witnessed a significant decline in opportunities in rural Ireland, a total change in the environment compared to 20, 30 or 40 years ago. An awful lot of it is down to the organisation of our people. If someone needs a job they have to go to where the jobs are. The biggest problem in rural Ireland is a lack of meaningful jobs. Government policies have always been driven by the need for everything to be bigger and better. I refer to the dairy co-operatives and how the service they offered to rural Ireland changed with public limited company, PLC, structure. Profit, profit, profit is preferred to sustainable communities.

I was involved in the fishing sector for a good part of my life. Two dozen boats practically own a national quota. That is wrong. That is driven by Government policies. The farming community is continuously in decline. The family farm, which was a large, sustainable part of our communities, has been reduced by well over 60% in the past 15 or 20 years. If someone wants to survive and prosper in rural Ireland, he or she must have more land, more cattle, a bigger dairy quota and a bigger quota for everything.

Deputy Heydon stated the population in rural areas is increasing. If that is the case I must be from outside rural Ireland. I have visited coastal communities from west Cork right up to Donegal. Probably the best example I can give to illustrate my point is from south Kerry. I refer to Valentia Island, Waterville, Cahirsiveen and all along that part of the coastline. They were once traditionally strong areas for the GAA but they are no longer capable of fielding a football team. The Valentia Young Islanders team has a great tradition. The great Mick O’Connell came from there and provided a great example. The team has players aged 46 and 48 in order to field 15 players. Along with other clubs it made a request to the county board to play 17 year olds in order to field a team but they are not allowed. Now, teams are being amalgamated. That is an indication of the pressure on rural communities.

The consequence of not having sustainable jobs and incomes is that young people leave. They go to Australia, England and America to seek out employment. They also go to Dublin. Many tradespeople are working in Dublin and Cork but they are not working in the areas they come from. Again, that is because there are no sustainable jobs that allow them to live and work in their communities. When that is the case, communities do not have spending power and the consequence of that is that small shops and businesses close. The latest phenomenon is the total decline in public houses. Much blame has been laid and much capital was made here about breathalysers and suchlike, but it is about much more than that. It is about being able to afford to go out and socialise in one’s community and people do not have sustainable jobs and incomes.

Transport is another significant issue. There is no public transport in most rural areas. The recent Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill has had an effect on learner drivers. Young people from the age of 17 who have a learner licence cannot get to work. They might have borrowed money for a car and paid colossal insurance of €3,000 or €4,000 and they might work for €350 a week and try to pay it back from that. In order to get to work they have to get their mother or father to accompany them. That is an absolute disaster. They might only have to drive 15 or 20 miles and there is no public transport. Their father or mother might be otherwise engaged and not in a position to get them to work. That is a major problem. Rural areas are turning into holiday areas for people who have holiday homes there for a couple of months of the year, for example in June, July and August. That brings some money into the economy. Until such time as we can provide real jobs in rural areas then that will continue to be the case.

I was rapporteur for a committee in a previous Dáil and we produced a paper on how to sustain rural Ireland. The Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas, CEDRA, report followed that. The commission was chaired by Pat Spillane. It is a good report with many good recommendations but it is just sitting there and nothing has been done from it nor from the committee’s report in which I was involved.

The question is how we turn things around. I appreciate the money being invested by the Minister, Deputy Ring. I read his speech which I was not present to hear. I appreciate that efforts are being made to put money into rural areas but it is only patching the situation. There is no point in saying otherwise. Unless we get real jobs for young people so that they are prepared to stay and to live in, work in and be part of their communities then all we are doing is patching over things. I accept there is goodwill involved but that is not sustainable in the long term.

Another major issue, which I expect the Minister’s community has come across as well, is difficulty getting planning for people on their own farms. People on small family farms try to get planning for their son or daughter so they can live there but they are coming under considerable pressure. In some cases, one can do it as there is a provision in some county development plans that all things being equal they will look favourably on applications from someone who has a tie to the community and is from the community who wants to build on his or her father’s or mother’s land. However, it is difficult to get the applications over the line.

Every single Department should rural proof its policies no matter what legislation is enacted. Consideration should be given to rural proofing any measures coming through this House from any Department in order to sustain rural areas. Rural Ireland as I knew it and probably as the Minister and other Members knew it has changed. It is not for the better.

Areas are becoming more barren due to the ageing and declining population in rural communities and the fact that no sustainable jobs are locating there. The Government and the Dáil as a whole, including the Opposition parties, must come up with policies that will reverse that. We must work together to bring that about. My party is very committed to that aim. Deputy Pearse Doherty, the spokesperson on finance, is from a coastal community, as am I, Senator Mac Lochlainn and others. We are very well acquainted with the situation. We tried to get the Island Fisheries (Heritage Licence) Bill enacted to help offshore islands but it is just sitting there. The Bill was passed through this House but it is not going anywhere. It is being blocked by Government policies. It would have provided some sustainability in the fishing sector for people who live on offshore islands. If we allow the situation to continue it will get worse. We must try to change things.

I welcome the efforts the Minister is making in providing funding for sustainable rural development and jobs, giving grant assistance to people who create employment in rural areas, and the roll-out of broadband and fibre optic that is becoming more prevalent. I am in the House for 17 years and in that time I have seen the situation deteriorate. There has been much bluster and commentary about rural Ireland but very little, if anything, is being done about it.

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