Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)

I thank Senator Glynn for sharing time with me. In supporting the motion, I am keenly aware that what we are really dealing with here is a good-news story that has captured the whole country's imagination. When it was announced by the Minister for Finance, no one envisaged anything as ambitious or extensive. I find it slightly ironic — I do not mean the debate in the House — how we dissect and analyse this decision when, over the years, industry, national institutions, transport infrastructure and everything else moved into Dublin without anyone questioning for one moment why that was happening. Of course it is a radical decision, but if we are talking about regional development, there is no point any more in cosmetic remedies, because they will not work. We have seen where they have been employed that down the road further difficulties have arisen.

I am delighted that we have this elaborate decentralisation programme not just because of the services which, or the number of people who, will move into the given area, but because of the other developments which are bound to follow from it. This will gather momentum as time goes on. If I was to make one appeal more than any other — I am sure each Member would like to see this move as expeditiously as possible and I have no doubt it will happen — it would be to help the people who will move into those areas to acquire houses without any obstruction. I am thinking particularly of rural Ireland. I believe an announcement is imminent on a less tight regime in regard to planning and one off houses in rural Ireland.

It is vitally important that happens because there are many people in Dublin who would be attracted to the country if they felt they could have the quality of life one finds in rural Ireland. Unfortunately, there is the perception abroad, which is very much an urban one, that provincial and rural Ireland is, in some way, a primitive reservation for second-class citizens. Nothing could be further from the truth. Anybody who has put up with what has happened in Dublin over the past 20 years or so knows there is a real quality of life for the individual, family and community in rural Ireland. It is absolutely vital that, as part of the package, the news we expect — I hope it will be interesting — will endeavour to help those people who want to build or purchase a house in rural Ireland.

We often talk about a quality of life in an artistic or a cultural sense. The same applies here in that rural Ireland, by and large, has been the custodian of many of our traditions. It has been the custodian of a quality of life which very often does not come under the same onslaught as might happen in the capital.

There is a perception in rural Ireland that if something happens in Dublin, it is big or tragic news but if it happens in rural Ireland, that is not the case. An example of that — I am not taking from the trauma involved — is if there is a flood in Dublin, one would think from the media that the whole island was going to sink. If there is a flood down the country, it, and its consequences, are ignored. The reason is that the media, by and large, are so close to what is happening in Dublin. I remember a "Late Late Show" when Gay Byrne was in charge of the programme. A debate was taking place and a particular senior politician, whose name or party I will not mention, arrived in the studio without an invitation and went straight up to join the panel to participate in the discussion. He said he was watching the programme at home, felt strongly about what he heard and had to come in to participate. What about the person in Cashel, Ballina or Cork? They could not do likewise.

The message being sent here is not just a vote of confidence in provincial Ireland. It is also sending a signal that, once and for all, there will be a greater balance and spread of whatever is available. Members may have noticed that few people in Dublin criticised the decision. The reason is that they know well that Dublin is absolutely saturated. One can talk about gridlock and the remedies but the wise man and woman on the street warned 25 years ago that we were pushing too much into Dublin and that the day of reckoning would eventually come. We are, once and for all, dealing with a good news and a radical story. What is important now is to put a positive spin on it and to put the shoulder to the wheel. This is just the start of many aspects of decentralisation.