Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On the issues of planning, and the Minister of State mentioned the big infrastructure projects, the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, has said he will not build the western rail corridor from Sligo and Collooney right the way down to Galway. That is a huge problem, and this is a Green Minister telling us he wants to invest in rural Ireland. It is not happening. It is not happening in our road infrastructure either or in many other areas.

I was at the ploughing earlier this year, and many came in to talk to us in the tent. The two big issues they talked about were rural planning and housing. People cannot get houses for their families. Houses in the west of Ireland and outside of urban areas are somewhat cheaper but then the services are not there. They do not have adequate health, GP or education services. All of these things have to be rural-proofed. I often hear it said that there has to be investment in rural areas but it simply is not happening, and we need to see some policy put in place where, if you are going to bring out guidelines, those guidelines have to have teeth. They have to make sure that when policy is being developed by all the different Departments, that they have to look to rural proofing to ensure people who live in rural areas do not just get an equal chance but get extra because they have been left behind for so long.

While it can be said that things are growing in some areas and people are moving out to the west or rural areas, the reality is that the country, as it develops, is developing more along the east coast and less on the west.

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