Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In my time as a public representative the people of west Cork have been the poor relations of Irish politics. They have fought bitterly for everything they have, with little or no Government support. I refer to the plastic factory in Skibbereen and the proposed harvesting of kelp in Bantry, which would have had a devastating effect on the environment and tourism in west Cork. The Minister could have stepped in on the latter issue but instead stood idly by. I was called an objector by a Minister for standing against these projects. The Government's inaction forced the ordinary, honest people of west Cork to dig deep and take legal challenges, which they won and through which they were proved right by the courts of the land. Following the last round of rural regeneration funding, 48 projects throughout County Cork, particularly those in west Cork, ended up with no funding and shovel-ready projects that could have created much needed employment in west Cork were scrapped. Only two months ago, during Leader's Questions, I raised with the Taoiseach the proposal for a daily park and ride bus service from Clonakilty to Cork Airport and Cork train station. It would have taken hundreds of vehicles off the roads weekly and eased pressures on families in west Cork. While the Taoiseach seemed receptive to the proposal, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport squashed the idea without even researching it. Seeing as it was Deputy Ross' Department - the man who destroyed rural Ireland - I knew that my proposals were doomed, as rural Ireland and west Cork are not on his satnav. The Government has a legacy of neglect of west Cork which has stifled major employment opportunities on the three peninsulas, namely, Mizen Head, Sheep's Head and the Beara Peninsula extending to Bantry and Skibbereen.

The biggest scandal of this and previous Governments for the people of County Cork is the lack of funding for roads. In the past few years moneys have only been spent on fire-fighting projects, that is, projects to repair roads that have been destroyed by storms and floodwaters. However, nothing has been spent on new bypasses or to pass bays since the opening of the Skibbereen bypass in 2003. A Government must spend on projects in a constituency in order to achieve whatever vision it has, but years of non-investment in major projects and roads in west Cork has left us decades behind the rest of the country. The Innishannon bypass was proposed almost 20 years ago and although many promises have been made, not one shovel has been turned. The southern bypass in Bandon is half-finished. Each year for as many years as I can remember Government politicians have been codding the electorate by announcing that funding will be found to finish the bypass. Of course, as we are talking about west Cork, why would any Government find the funding to finish this much-needed project? We are now hearing about a much needed northern relief road for Bandon which would bring cars from Billie's Drive-Thru on the Cork side of Bandon to the Dunmanway road. We all thought it was a great project, but the people of west Cork should not get too carried away, as it has now emerged that the road will only go half way, as far as Kilbrogan Hill, ruining residential homes and businesses along the way and creating a massive bottleneck in west Cork. It seems the only vision the Government has for Bandon is two unfinished bypasses.

We need a vision for west Cork. The fishing and farming industries are going through disastrous times, but in west Cork we face up to these challenges. Will the Minister tell me what plans the Government has to invest in roads in west Cork? I am referring to new major projects which would at least bring us up to speed with the rest of the country.

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