Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak to the House on the issue of rural development as a Deputy representing one of the most rural parts of Ireland but one of the most successful parts of Ireland in attracting Government and Department funding in recent years. In 1999, I was elected as a member of Roscommon County Council and at that time, the only funding the local authority could rely on was the then Department of the Environment and Local Government, and money was thin on the ground.

I want to acknowledge the changes that came in recent years, which began through the likes of Deputy Ó Cuív, who introduced the CLÁR programme. It then took on pace when Deputy Ring, as Minister of State, expanded the programmes. The Deputy eventually became the first person to hold the position of Minister for Rural and Community Development in Cabinet. I acknowledge our current Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, who recognised the need to give the area of rural development its own Department with a full Minister. Deputy Ring can be proud of his record from 2016 to 2020 and of the funding he was able to deliver across so many schemes. These delivered deep into some of the smallest and most rural communities in Ireland. Bringing us up to present day, the development and groundwork done by her predecessor only accelerated the ambition of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, to deliver even more across rural communities.

I want to focus on my constituency and tell the House of the difference this funding has made to so many community facilities, including magnificent: playgrounds; sports fields; community centres; greenways; blueways; new footpaths; public lighting schemes; car parks; street scapes; and recreation parks. I could go on but I do not have the time. The Minister's Department has invested €41.8 million in County Sligo and €54.9 million in Leitrim since 2017. That is nearly a record €100 million. I want to highlight is that the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, is in favour of smaller and weaker counties like Leitrim, Sligo, Roscommon and others. If it was depending on population numbers, they would be at the bottom of the list in terms of funding.

I highlight what the funding of these projects means on the ground. My hometown of Boyle, for example, has seen a huge number of projects receive moneys from the RRDF, the town and village scheme and CLÁR. Derelict buildings have been problematic but in the coming months the old Royal Hotel will become a bright new building in the centre of the town and provide a landing space for start-up businesses and exhibition space. The Minister came down and saw that site before and after. That riverside promenade and civic space will make a great difference and completely transform the riverside location in the heart of the town. Down the road, we need to look at towns like Boyle that just do not have hotels and where developers will not build hotels. Maybe the local authorities could help to build a hotel in such locations. A hotel is social infrastructure. A town without a hotel is a town without a soul. That is something we need to look at.

Moneys from the RRDF have made a huge difference. They helped Leitrim County Council purchase the former MBNA building in Carrick-on-Shannon. That is one of the best strategic decisions for that region in a lifetime. The build cost of that campus is estimated at close to €44 million, and it is now in the ownership of the local authority at a lost of less than €6 million. The county council has a fund of close to €3 million to allow the expansion, recalibration and refurbishment of the campus, with the potential to bring 500 jobs over the next three to four years. This will happen. I thank the Minister for showing interest in the project. In Sligo, tourism is an important and growing sector. In recognition of this strategy funding for the Yeats Trail is an example I want to highlight. The Minister was there and the Yeats Trail visits 14 sites throughout the county that have an association with William Butler Yeats and his work. The new trail complements the Wild Atlantic Way and will help attract visitors to the region. The project received an investment of €500,000.

The Minister has continued to fund these important schemes, and that is much appreciated by local representatives. Her Department may have one of the smallest budgets, but it invests its money wisely. I conclude by saying keep it up Minister. Rural Ireland, north Roscommon, south Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim are feeling the benefit. I know it and I thank the Minister for the interest she has in smaller and less populated areas, giving them the leg up they richly deserve and appreciate.

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