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

Let us take a closer look at the grants that have been given out over recent years. West Cork and Cork county were continuously overlooked in recent years. Look at the rural regeneration funds. West Cork had a shovel-ready project which ticked all the boxes for two years, namely, the Schull Harbour development project, which could have created 100 jobs in a rural peninsula. I pleaded with the Tánaiste, when he was Taoiseach, with the then Minister, Deputy Ring, and the current Taoiseach, to get this project the funds it deserved, but not one cent came to west Cork. At the same time, three rural regeneration projects in Mayo got €6.4 million in total. The first one got €1.8 million, the next got €2.6 million and the third got €1.9 million. This and other aspirational non-shovel-ready projects got millions throughout the county, but west Cork and Cork county got zero funding. This year, west Cork put forward two great projects: the Dursey Island cable car project in Castletownbere and the Bandon public realm plan. Surely, if rural regeneration funding was in an honest capacity, we would have had funding for at least one of the two projects, but again we got zero funding.

Will the Tánaiste promise today to launch and independent inquiry as to what has gone on in Government Departments for years to allow this scandal of underfunding for Cork county? Will this independent inquiry see heads roll in Departments where wrongdoing is found out? Will he immediately support my call for setting up a task force in west Cork to try to repair the damage done for decades so that we can have, not a greater amount of funds, but equal funding? Will he read this report and act on its findings?

See this speech in context