Seanad debates

Thursday, 5 December 2002

National Spatial Strategy: Statements.

 

It is great, however, that we have to grapple with the problems caused by success. It is much better to have those problems than others. I was invited to the Humbert Summer School two years ago to address the issue of the downside of economic success. Everyone had an horrendous tale to tell about the effects of that success on personal interaction and community support. On the way there I went through Charlestown when I remembered the book, The Death of an Irish Town, by the great journalist, John Healy. As I passed through I noticed they were building a housing estate. Ten years ago people would have laughed at the thought of a housing estate being built there. People were fleeing to America and elsewhere. Now they are coming back. I went into Westport where the congestion was almost as bad as parts of Dublin, but it was great to see cars there. It meant people who lived in remote areas who had to walk to draw the dole were now driving to a job. We do not emphasise this enough. RTÉ is particularly prone to this, it never concentrates on any positive aspects of success.

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