Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have a few valuable seconds. One has to be like Usain Bolt to get points out in this Chamber.

The Minister of State might respond to my queries and questions since my time is limited. I want to get out of the Chamber to comply with the social distancing rules.

I quickly want to draw the Minister of State's attention to inconsistent planning decisions by An Bord Pleanála. It recently dealt with two almost identical planning files in County Clare relating to mobile phone masts - one in Quilty and the other in Doonbeg. Both communities are coastal and visually vulnerable, in beautiful scenic areas. In both instances, they were refused planning by Clare County Council but when it went to An Bord Pleanála, the Quilty decision was upheld but planning for the Doonbeg mast was granted. Locals are utterly perplexed and frustrated. We need consistency in that regard. The Department is the supreme custodian for planning policy. The Minister of State will probably tell me he cannot intervene. If nothing else, there needs to be consistency.

The second issue I wish to raise is that of local government funding. In a normal year, Clare County Council bills its ratepayers approximately €44.7 million in rates. However, following the closure of businesses due to the Covid pandemic, the council anticipates a loss of income in the region of €19.7 million. In Clare, there is high dependency on the hospitality sector, which will not reboot overnight, and Shannon Airport, which pays in the region of €2 million in rates per annum. The presence of Moneypoint power station in west Clare throws up another anomaly in funding in that it accounts for one quarter of all the rates based in the country. The Minister of State needs to look at this because Clare will be disproportionately hit by all of this. The recent Covid regional economic analysis report published by the three regional authorities has Clare in the highest exposure category with its businesses operating in the worst affected areas. Clare ranks fifth on that list. I would like to know whether the Department will intervene in this regard.

Finally, I refer to a topical issue and I do not expect the Minister of State to respond to it. In the past hour or so, Aer Lingus has announced a significant number of job losses directly impacting on my constituency. The company has done it unilaterally, without engagement with unions or workers. We need to set up a task force. We need to have a session here next week to deal with Aer Lingus job losses and the regional impact in Shannon and the Clare hinterland.

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