Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I have raised the north quays project in Waterford numerous times and I know the Minister of State is familiar with it. The north quays in Waterford is the site of a proposed €350 million regeneration project that will be a game-changer for the city. This opportunity has presented itself through the hard work and efforts of Waterford City and County Council under the leadership of its CEO, Mr. Michael Walsh. The proposed investment in Waterford city by the Alhokair Group from Saudi Arabia has provided a much-needed confidence boost for the city and the whole south east.

The south east needs a regional city of consequence and that must be Waterford. The city must be enabled for propulsive growth. For regions to be strong, they need a strong city. However, this project is so much more, with an impact on additional permanent services such as healthcare, education and transport. It would also have significant economic benefits. The development is planned on approximately 17 acres of substantial and spectacular river frontage. The proposal includes development of a total of 60,000 sq. m to include retail units, leisure and office space, 200 apartments and a relocated train station, which will result in an integrated transport hub. This will provide a sustainable transport corridor and improve access from north to south by creating a pedestrian bridge linking the north quays to the south quays and the remainder of the city centre. The north quays development will increase Waterford’s retail offering by 50%. It is envisaged that 2,300 direct jobs will be created on completion of the project.

The planning application for the project is extensive. The scale of the documentation is enormous and the application is cognisant of all regulatory guidelines. The cost alone of printing the documents is around €120,000, which gives an idea of the work that has already gone into this project. I understand the planning application will be lodged in coming weeks.

Waterford can and must act as a release valve for the pressure that is building in the capital. The city and county council has done an amazing job in getting the project to the current stage with the support of politicians, Waterford Chamber of Commerce, the Alhokair Group and other stakeholders. Under the national planning framework, on which the Minister of State has worked hard, Waterford metropolitan area has been designated for population growth of up to 30,000. If Waterford is to realise this aspiration, the development of the north quays is crucial.

In 2017, Waterford City and County Council applied for funding of €20.1 million from the urban regeneration and development fund for the first phase of this development.

It received €6 million, which is well short of what is required. We need to see how seriously the Government views promoting regional economic development. What we need from the Government today is certainty, commitment and clarity. We need certainty that the Government fully supports this vital project, commitment to the finance required over the next three to four years and clarity as to when and how the finance will be allocated to progress this vital project. When will the 2019 tranche of funding be allocated?

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Butler for raising this important matter and for giving me another opportunity to discuss and clarify it. It is a project with which I am very familiar. I am also familiar with the site. It is a project of which we are very supportive and rightly so. It is very important if we are to achieve our ambition in Project Ireland 2040 and the national planning framework. It is very important that we follow up national plans through local implementation. I compliment all involved in the north quays project in Waterford and, in particular, Waterford City and County Council’s efforts in leading on it, along with the support of the chambers, many others and politicians, as Deputy Butler rightly said. Along the way it was important that everyone was able to play their part in helping.

I am glad to have an opportunity to discuss Waterford City and County Council's bid for funding for the north quays under the urban regeneration and development fund, URDF, which is part of Project Ireland 2040. In 2016, the north quays area in Waterford was the subject of a strategic development zone, SDZ, order made by the Government, recognising the social and economic importance of the site to the State, and designating the Waterford north quays for mixed use development, subject to preparation of an SDZ planning scheme, which has since been completed.

The national planning framework launched in February 2018 as part of Project Ireland 2040 includes objectives to achieve more compact urban growth in Ireland’s cities, including the significant further development of Waterford city and to move development away from the east coast to all of our other cities. Further to the national planning framework, the ten year URDF, worth €2 billion to 2027, was established, with €550 million of committed Exchequer grant funding available to 2022.

In 2018, bids were invited from public bodies for funding support from the URDF. On 26 November 2018, the Minister, Deputy Murphy, announced initial support of €100 million in provisional allocations to a total of 88 projects throughout the country. As part of this first tranche of approvals, the Waterford north quays project was allocated support of €6 million. A large and complex integrated urban project, the Waterford north quays proposal, includes significant high cost capital elements. Under the first URDF call for proposals, the council submitted a bid for URDF funding, which included four significant elements. These were relocation of the city's railway station to the east to form a new public transport interchange; a new pedestrian, cyclist and public transport bridge and associated urban greenway; site access roads and road realignment; and off-site roads in the wider north bank of the Suir area in Waterford and Kilkenny. It is intended that the infrastructural works involved will open up the north quays site, making it more accessible and supporting the achievement of the objectives of the SDZ planning scheme more generally.

The overall project is one of the more complex URDF proposals and it is essential that careful consideration be given to the proper advancement of its design, planning, procurement and construction. I recognise that all of the promoters involved have big plans with a lot of detail and they are very committed to the project. The initial URDF support to Waterford, as with all other successful bid proposals, is approved in principle and is subject to a finalised agreement between the Department and Waterford City and County Council. I have said before, and I say again, that it has to be seen as a starting point in a programme of ongoing support for a significant city centre urban renewal project. This is a very clear commitment from the Government. We stress that it is a starting point. There is an initial tranche and we will need to continue with the work. Deputy Butler should recognise this as support and backing up our plans, commitments and recognition of projects of significant value to the region and Waterford city. In this regard, the Department is continuing to engage with Waterford City and County Council on advancement of the overall project to agree project composition and sequencing and establish project cost certainty to inform current and future URDF funding support and allocations.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his commitment to this project and I welcome the fact he has said the initial URDF support to Waterford as well as other successful bid proposals is approved in principle and is subject to a finalised agreement between the Department and Waterford City and County Council. I acknowledge what he said about it being a starting point but I need to reiterate that it is very important to state it is extremely unlikely that the project will get over the line without State funding. A total of €13 million is required in 2019 to start the process and a commitment of €90 million is needed over the next three to four years. Much of the infrastructure development involved in the project would have had to come in future anyway. What this project is doing is accelerating this hugely important infrastructure and increasing connectivity between the north and the south of the city.

Sustainable transport infrastructure is the essence of this project and development of this site can and will act as a catalyst for the city and county of Waterford and the entire south east. The employment opportunities, housing opportunities and health opportunities cannot be underestimated. The north quays development will act as a catalyst for all these things because it will lead to population growth and to Waterford and the south east acting as a release valve for the overcrowding in Dublin.

I reiterate that what is needed in the project to drive it forward at this stage is certainty, commitment and clarity. As the project goes to planning in the next couple of weeks, Waterford City and County Council and the developers need clarity on funding and a timeframe for the funding because this is such an important opportunity for the people of Waterford city and county and we have to make sure it happens.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Butler for raising this issue. The URDF is focused on supporting projects that will assist regeneration and rejuvenation of Ireland's five cities and other large towns and enable a greater proportion of residential and mixed use development to deliver within the existing built-up footprints of our cities and towns. I reiterate that we are very supportive of the project. It will ensure that more parts of rural urban areas can become attractive and vibrant places in which people can choose to live and work as well as enabling them to be able to win greater investment and make it more attractive to visit.

In keeping with the aim of the national planning framework and Project Ireland 2040 more widely, the URDF represents a more enlightened approach to the provision of Government support and a movement away from silo policies, thinking and funding of the past, which has held back many of our cities and towns. Through the fund we offer targeted integrated support for innovative holistic solutions to the issues that for too long have prevented the regeneration and rejuvenation of our cities and towns. It is anticipated that the continuation of the URDF in 2020 and beyond will facilitate a greater focus on integrated urban projects such as the north quays in Waterford, as these proposals require sufficient time for design, planning, procurement and construction to be advanced properly. The Government is only one of the stakeholders and Deputy Butler mentioned some of the others. It is important that we are seen as part of the funding mechanism. The taxpayer cannot facilitate all of it. The fund is about making it happen and giving the Government's stamp of approval. It is all about releasing other matched funding.

As I indicated earlier, the Department has already engaged with Waterford City and County Council and will continue to do so to discuss the progression of the proposal in 2019 and onwards, with the intention of agreeing the project composition with regard to URDF support and future funding allocations. We do see the importance of this for the city, the south-east region and the regions beyond it and for achieving our aims in Project Ireland 2040.

I am conscious that the Minister, Deputy Bruton, is sitting beside me. We can look back over the past seven or eight years at the support we have given to and the focus we have put on the south-east area and the city of Waterford, starting with the Action Plan for Jobs and the south-east plan for jobs. The employment situation in that area has been transformed. We recognise there is still more work to do to complete this journey and to future-proof the area so it can continue to win investment and jobs. People have to see there has been a strong commitment to the south-east region over the past seven or eight years from the Government because we are committed to it. I want to say on the record that we are committed to it through this funding model in the years ahead.

Another example of this is the recent announcement of support for the regional airport. I am surprised by a lot of the commentary around it. To me it was a very wise decision. Regional airports transform an area. Kerry is a prime example and we can also look at Knock. The local commentary was positive but did not take on the national commentary questioning the logic behind it. It makes total and utter sense, certainly when it releases other supportive funding from other stakeholders and brings in private capital. We get best value for taxpayers' money through using it to match private money. We have always said a mixture of public and private enterprise coming together to drive an area is key but people seem to knock it. The Deputy should be making it very clear so people see the commitment to Waterford city and county and the surrounding region.