Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The commitment to a town centres first policy is a key commitment in the programme for Government. It is referenced some 20 times in the Housing for All document and also forms a central plank of Our Rural Future, the development policy issued by the Department of Rural and Community Development. However, as I said to the Minister of State last night, I still do not have a clear picture of what the town centres first principle looks like when applied in the Irish context.

On my way here today, I attended the official launch of St. Declan's way by the Minister, Deputy Humphreys. This is a long-distance walking trail from Cashel, County Tipperary to Ardmore, County Waterford. It passes through Ardfinnan, Cappoquin, Lismore, Aglish and more. These are small rural market towns built around a historic core. Cappoquin in particular is an exemplar of what towns centres first could and should look like. Its development is heritage-led and centred around community engagement. In the Heritage Council's collaborative town centre health check, we have a toolkit at the ready, which takes a holistic view of the regeneration of our smaller urban centres. We cannot continue to take an atomised and financialised view of housing stock in our town centres. It cannot just be about the development of units. We must sit these homes in the context of local heritage, creating vibrant and sustainable communities that take account of factors such as embedded carbon, place-making, sustainable transport and localised retail.

Just as we consider the negative societal impact of vacancy and dereliction, both of which we should tackle head-on, we should consider and calculate the positive impact across the economy and society of reanimating our town centres and incentivise their redevelopment, breathing life back into their historic cores both in terms of the built environment and of the communities they support. There can be no better way to revitalise rural Ireland.

Casfaidh mé anois ar cheist na tithíochta sa Ghaeltacht. Leagtar dualgais ar na húdaráis áitiúla oidhreacht teanga agus cultúrtha na Gaeltachta a chosaint faoin Acht um Pleanáil agus Forbairt 2000. Is minic, áfach, nach mbíonn cosaint mar is ceart déanta ag na húdaráis áitiúla ar an nGaeltacht sa phróiseas pleanála. Níl aon dabht ach go bhfuil géarchéim teanga ann sa Ghaeltacht agus is cinnte go bhfuil tionchar nach beag ar chúrsaí tithíochta ag an bhfadhb seo. Tá rialacháin ón Roinn Tithíochta, Rialtais Áitiúil agus Oidhreachta ag teastáil go géar, rialacháin inar leagfaí amach go beacht na céimeanna a bheidh le glacadh ag na húdaráis áitiúla chun an Ghaeltacht a chosaint sa phróiseas pleanála. Ní leor don Stát cur chuige margaidh a ghlacadh maidir le cúrsaí tithíochta sa Ghaeltacht. Tá talamh i seilbh an Stáit ar fud na Gaeltachta ag na húdaráis áitiúla agus ag Údarás na Gaeltachta. Tá deis ann tithíocht pobalbhunaithe a fhorbairt ar an talamh seo. Tá grúpaí pobail ann sna ceantair seo a bheadh lánsásta tithíocht inacmhainne don phobal áitiúil a fhorbairt ar an talamh dá mbeadh teacht acu air.

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