Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing my time. We need a vibrant rural life where families can live and work locally in sustainable communities. I take the opportunity of a debate on rural development to welcome US insurance company, Unum's, expansion of its technology centre of excellence in Carlow. Unum has been a big success for Carlow since it set up here in 2008. It currently employs 150 people and today it announced an additional 50 jobs for Carlow. This is a great boost for the south east. Unum is the largest tech employer in Carlow and it has developed strong ties with IT Carlow, from which it employs many graduates.

This expansion has been supported by the Government through IDA Ireland for many years. I have been calling for IDA Ireland to deliver foreign direct investment for rural areas like Carlow. I hope we will see further investment secured in the future. Carlow is situated close to Dublin with a fantastic road network and has so much to offer. I welcome the additional €23 million for rural and community development which I know places particular focus on supporting rural communities impacted by Covid-19. I particularly welcome the investment of €20 million in town and village renewal in 2021. Villages in my area, such as Newtown, Bennekerry, Rathvilly, Bagenalstown, Fenagh, St. Mullins, Myshall, Tullow, Duckett’s Grove and Borris, all form an essential part of rural Ireland and need funding. I know funding is available and I hope it will be accessed.

The funding announced for CLÁR a few days ago was a bit disappointing. I can only speak of my own local authority. My understanding was that CLÁR had €5.5 million. Carlow County Council had applied for ten projects, of which only two were approved, which is very disappointing. The Minister, Deputy Humphreys, spoke about the population criteria for CLÁR, which need to be changed because many of the projects were refused because of population size.

I raised the issue of investment in digital hubs and broadband connection points last week. I welcome National Broadband Ireland's investment of €32 million for a new high-speed fibre network in Carlow. It will access the hubs and connection points to become a focus for communities to enable workers and students to work remotely.

The current pandemic crisis has brought to the fore our core values, the essence of our community, and what services the State provides when all life is stripped back to the very basics. The post office network has proven to be essential to our very existence. During the lockdown, the post office network provided essential services. It was one of the few State-owned assets that kept money circulating in our local communities. We can no longer ignore or pay lip service to the realities of the financial gravity in which post offices find themselves. In the next eight months approximately 600 local offices will face significant downward revision in income that will make them unviable. Owing to their community and social value, post offices, so visible during the pandemic, must be recognised and protected. Many people have contacted me on this. The post office is the life and soul of a community.

I welcome the €5.1 million to increase the level of volunteering in the country and to match volunteers to organisations needing assistance. This is the best way to show our appreciation for all those volunteering during the Covid pandemic, especially in County Carlow. This reflects all the great work that has been done. Volunteers represent the best part of us, and this is exactly the kind of investment we needed. We need to be very practical here. Rural areas need to survive. At the best of times before the pandemic we were facing challenges, but Covid has brought extra challenges for which we need to get funding.

I return to the post offices. We need to play a role in keeping our post offices open. That is the biggest challenge we have, and we need to ensure we do that.

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