Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is worth pointing out that there has been unease in the local community in respect of the removal of the digital hub. We sometimes deal with communities that have not necessarily been dealt a fair hand by the State through many years. All present know the reality of what needs to be done in such communities. We all know the real way of dealing with problems such as poverty and associated issues is through education and employment. Where there are projects that are working, facilitating people and engaging with them, that should be sustained. We need more such projects. Consideration has to be given to these sorts of projects, particularly those that are technologically based, whether they are training schemes or projects that otherwise engage with communities. Certain people come from different places and sometimes a huge amount of preliminary work is necessary. One could be dealing with people who may have dropped out of education at a very early stage and have an unease and, let us say, a lack of confidence in that regard. One has to create the conditions where those people feel safe and secure in order to build up that confidence and provide them with the necessary skill sets. That is how we can bridge those gaps. Dealing with that wider issue would require a significant number of interventions the State has failed to provide, some of which relate to wholesale early interventions for families and communities. That could almost break the poverty trap with which we are dealing.

I reiterate the point that there is unease in respect of what is being proposed here. There is an onus on the Government to realise that and to look at the possibilities it may have in the future of engaging with the community and all the necessary stakeholders and then looking at worthwhile projects. What we are talking about here is bridging those gaps. It is about creating a more level playing field and providing people with skills, roadmaps and through-paths into education and employment. Some of that will require heavy lifting by the Government. It has been a failing of this State for many years. Unless we want to continue with some of the current circumstances in communities that have been disadvantaged, the State will have to get its hands dirty. The Minister of State needs to consider what is being taken away here and what is a best-case scenario that can be provided back to these communities.

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