Tom Neville (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply and for his good wishes which have been well-noted. On the broader debate on rural Ireland and on an issue I have raised here before and which is one for all rural Deputies, some towns and villages are beginning to feel the fruits of the economy and are starting to grow. They need help to get to the next level and these are towns and villages that were left behind during the boom. I refer to the sewerage scheme debacle during the Celtic tiger where schemes were bundled and unbundle but which were never done. These schemes need to be put to the forefront and developed. That would give these small towns and villages a critical mass that would sustain a market for small indigenous businesses. If a number of these towns and villages had an expanded sewerage scheme, it will would help them to grow. That is the next step in the development of rural regeneration.

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