Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Since I was first elected to this House, one of the issues that I have constantly raised is that of town centre regeneration, in particular the regeneration of centres in towns like Dundalk and Drogheda.

Anybody travelling through any town in Ireland today is sure to find a vast number of vacant properties. Indeed, the main street in my home town of Dundalk, Clanbrassil Street, has vacant shop units and, overhead, many vacant living spaces. Everyone knows that we are in the middle of a housing crisis. Time and again I have asked why more is not being done to regenerate the vacant properties in towns such as Dundalk and Drogheda and, not only that, to regenerate the living quarters that are often over the retail units in the main trading places.

On mainland Europe, it is quite common to see town centre properties used for living accommodation, particularly the overhead living quarters. In Dundalk there is a major problem among multinational companies trying to recruit workers because there is no suitable accommodation. Nothing is available and this is making it increasingly difficult to attract workers to the town. I have spoken to a number of these employers and they all tell me the same story that accommodation is a problem when trying to attract employees to the area. That is why I fully support any initiative that might help. I welcome the town centre first plan and will fully support it as long as it produces the right outcomes. We do not want another talking shop with lots of different people talking and nothing happening on the ground. It is time for action. We need the plan to be successful. Our town centres need new life pumped into them. Towns like Dundalk have great potential. All that is needed is for local people to be given the resources to put measures in place that can regenerate the town centres and, therefore, I am glad the Minister of State said that the one-size-fits-all approach will not work.

What we need is for people to work together locally to identify the areas that need help and to direct resources to where they are badly needed. A lot of work continues to be done in Dundalk in the northern end of the town and we are starting to see results. I have no doubt that the regeneration will transform the towns like Dundalk and can see it happen already in the northern quarter there.

The bottom line is that every town needs a vibrant town centre to act as both a social and economic area. Town centres should be safe places for us to live and to work. If schemes like this succeed we will all be winners with people and businesses in the town centres When we go on holidays abroad, we all see how vibrant town centres can be at night and during the day. Why can all town centres not be like that? We just need Government support with funding and the support of the local authorities with planning. Then the rest will fall into place. I welcome any initiative that can get real results and transform town centres, including Dundalk and Drogheda.

Dundalk has been lucky in attracting multinational companies. Some years ago I met the managing director of and asked him why the company opted for Dundalk. He said that there had been a lot of investment in the town centre. He said he had visited the town with his family before they picked their site. They had walked around the town centre and got a feel for the people in the area. They visited the local college, which we were lucky to have, Dundalk Institute of Technology or DKIT, and it was excellent. They looked at the schools, shops and everything else. When he visited the local auctioneers he saw a lot of vacant properties in Dundalk and wondered why the Government did not seem to invest in it. As I said earlier, when visiting Spain or Portugal, for example, the number of people who live over shop units is unreal. If we can get multinational companies to come to places such as Dundalk and Drogheda or the Minister of State's own town of Mullingar, it will be a win-win for everyone.

The Dundalk business improvement district scheme, BIDS, works very closely with the local authority, which, to be fair, injects a lot of money. I mentioned the northern part of Dundalk. I recall how it used to be a doom and gloom area but in recent years a lot of money has been injected into the area. Initiatives such as BIDS have helped to improve the derelict and old buildings and a lot of money has been spent on painting and decorating them. When coming into Dundalk, the Crowne Plaza can be seen and it gives a nice feeling for the area.

I fully support the Minister of State. I have known him for some years. He is a very up-and-coming young politician and I think that he has a good future ahead. It is good to have people like him who have a business perspective. We need help. I mentioned DKIT earlier. The workers and skills it has provided these multinational companies has been unreal. The institute is looking for university status. The Minister, Deputy Harris, is doing his best to help us. We were top of the list for years and then suddenly we just dropped to a lower level. However, a lot of work has been done.

To conclude, there are many vacant properties in Dundalk, Drogheda and other towns. I hope that the Government injects the necessary funds. It is common sense that to make money, money has to be invested. Many multinational companies will come to Dundalk and attract many people with them. Those people will come with families, children and everything else but they have nowhere to live. These shops may not suit young families but single people or married people just starting off could move in. I have full confidence in the Minister of State and I support him.

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