Joe McHugh (Fine Gael)

Doaghbeg is a microcosm of rural life. It is a rural area disaffected by depopulation, brain drain and the movement of people to urban centres. If the Department had any teeth it would have no problem keeping a school like that open and encouraging investment in the area. There are people living in continental Europe, America and even other parts of Ireland, from Letterkenny to Dublin, who would live in Doaghbeg if the services were provided. Donegal people would live in Doaghbeg and Fanad if broadband services were provided, to which the Minister referred earlier and which I will address shortly.

My third point concerns the CLÁR area, of which the Minister will be aware. The CLÁR area was mapped out but there was political uproar when certain areas were not included. That political uproar continued until the Minister decided to include other areas in the CLÁR area, which he did in Donegal and for which he should be commended. However, the nub of the problem was that he increased the number of areas but reduced the funds. That is a fact. That is like having a birthday party and a big cake for 20 young people and then deciding to invite another 20 but have a smaller cake. That situation must be seriously addressed.

I wish to be parochial now because the rural way of life is part of me, my social upbringing and my mindset and is something for which I have to fight the cause and bring problems to the Minister's attention. There is a small area in a place called Elly in Oughterlin in Donegal. A gentleman came to me last week and said that 50 years ago there were 45 smokes, as he called it, in that area. I do not need to define "smokes" for the Minister; he knows what I mean. The man was talking about smoke from chimneys. That number has been reduced to three. That is an area which lobbied strongly to be included in the CLÁR programme. I asked him what he would gain from being included and he said he wanted to set up a small business and wondered if he would get grant aid for it through the Minister's Department. I told him he would not because the Department lacks teeth.

The Minister has talked here on many occasions about broadband roll-out. It is like the spatial strategy and every development plan and feasibility study we have in Donegal on which millions of euro were wasted. The Minister would also agree that money was wasted on consultancy fees. Broadband roll-out is a myth when we talk about rural areas. The only places gaining in terms of broadband roll-out from the Government are urban areas like Gweedore and Letterkenny. The rural areas are not being included. There has been no examination of radio broadband or satellite broadband for rural areas. If the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs had teeth, it would carry out pilot schemes in areas like Milford, from where Icome.

A few weeks ago, my party leader, Deputy Kenny, tabled a parliamentary question on post offices in County Donegal. As I mentioned this morning, in the past 15 years, 24 post offices in Donegal have closed down because of insufficient people. Senator Glynn argued against me this morning. However, this is the effect of depopulation and the movement of people from rural to urban areas. The Letterkenny town plan cannot cope with the number of people from rural Donegal moving to the town. There is no reason for them to stay in rural areas, as there are no services, post offices, shops or schools.

There is a small place in the north of County Donegal, which no longer has a post office or a school. All that is left is a little community that is disillusioned and disenfranchised from society. They have no confidence in the system and have no hope for their young ones to return in the future as they are either working in continental Europe, London, Dublin or Letterkenny. Does the Minister believe his Department can address the issue of depopulation under his remit? The people living in the small areas I have highlighted — Elly, Oughterlin, Glenvar and Doaghbeg — do not believe the Department has done anything to instil confidence that their communities have a future.

The Minister spoke about water and sewerage schemes. We have group schemes, small water schemes and every type of scheme in County Donegal. The smaller the scheme, the more the people get hammered in terms of money. Those in a small scheme with 20 people have to pay €6,000 per household. These people are not in a position to pay that kind of money. The Minister might say that if they were in the CLÁR programme, they might be included. Where is the support from the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs for them?

The Minister is using the local authorities as a mechanism to bring money to rural areas and he says this is ultimately the responsibility of the councillors. I am still a member of my local authority and along with a Fianna Fáil and an Independent Fianna Fáil councillor, I had a part to play in getting CLÁR money to County Donegal for roads. I admit that money tarred three or four lanes that would not have been tarred under the local authority programme. However, what has that done to reverse the problem of depopulation? The Minister might think that tarring a road that has not been tarred in 20 years is the way forward. This may be a case the glass being half full and perhaps I should not be too critical.

As regards water and sewerage schemes that come through the local authority, the Minister knows that each section of Donegal County Council is under pressure and constantly draws down money for major capital projects. The director of services in the environment and sanitary section of Donegal County Council is dealing with millions of euro annually. The total allocation for County Donegal from the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs is approximately €2 million. When this is broken down to water and sewerage schemes, sums of €50,000 to €80,000 are being allocated. Such amounts get lost in administration as the Minister knows and do not go directly to the rural area. The Minister should consider the community groups and not the local authorities as a mechanism for transferring this money.