Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire agus déanaim comhghairdeas leis.

Like the Minister, I come from an urban area but I spent my summers in a farming community in the north Cork-Kerry border area. Listening to the Minister, however, I thought I was living in a parallel world. While I hope he continues his emphasis on the townland and rural Ireland, and I welcome the fact that, nine months later, a Leader programme will be announced next week about which the Minister will get no argument from this side of the House, an analytical survey of the current position would indicate that despite the vast sums of money being spent, provincial and rural Ireland is in economic crisis. Every day we read about it in regional newspapers, talk to people, meet our cousins and our neighbours and listen. Businesses and public houses are closing, small firms are collapsing and post offices are being shut down in rural Ireland.

The Minister spoke eloquently about rural Ireland but what has happened to our local creamery, marts and shops, and the bed and breakfast houses that we saw locally when we were growing up? They are all gone yet those regions were thrown a hypocritical lifeline in the botched decentralisation plan, to which the Minister referred in his contribution, and the bizarre national spatial strategy. We are facing a meltdown in that regard. On a recent "Late Late Show" programme Fr. Harry Bohan and other panellists discussed that issue and one got a real sense of what community and rural Ireland means today.

One of the biggest difficulties the Minister must address is social exclusion. That refers to the structures and processes that exclude not just people but individuals and groups from their full participation in society. As we are aware, social exclusion can take many different forms, be they economic, legal, cultural, social or political, with multiple and mutually reinforcing effects. It is not just about lack of investment but isolation, unemployment, lack of educational and work opportunities and discrimination.

In 2002, Heanue wrote in a report that the lure of employment opportunities pull people out of rural areas. The Minister made reference to that in his contribution. At the same time, the absence of social and cultural amenities in the rural area, which are a direct consequence of low population base, act as a significant push factor out of the area. The strength of the pushing and pulling forces is amplified by an ever increasing expectation of a better educated and more mobile rural population, to which Heanue referred.

The Minister spoke about the urban area but as a school teacher I am aware that one of the biggest difficulties being experienced in urban areas is class sizes. I support his point regarding the issue of rural Ireland and the quality of education but we have a smaller class size and a smaller base. Despite the vast sums of money being invested in RAPID areas, we are losing the battle in many urban areas. I would welcome a debate on that also.

The National Economic and Social Forum reported on a number of distinct social groups which experience social exclusion in rural Ireland. The report mentioned a number of characteristics associated with rural poverty and social exclusion including high levels of invisibility, out-migration of the post-primary education and working cohorts, which the Minister mentioned in his contribution, sparse population trends, the decline in the relative contribution of agriculture, infrastructural difficulties and physical isolation.

The national spatial strategy is a failed plan. The gateway towns about which the Minister spoke have failed to develop coherently and we continue to see massive development around the eastern hub of Dublin. A total of 40% of our population is located in and around the Dublin area. An analysis of the job losses in rural areas suggests that they were older, traditional style companies and not ones based on modern technology.

Fr. Harry Bohan used a great phrase one time at a conference and it is an important point we should examine. He stated, "The Celtic tiger, wonderful though it is, may have made us lose touch with people, place, roots and soul". That is a fundamental point because from interacting with people in rural Ireland I am aware there is a sense of isolation from services. They feel economically isolated. The sense of community is being eroded and there is an erosion of services.

Like the Minister, I believe we are a predominantly rural country and we must preserve, enrich and enhance the village, the townland, our small towns and our large towns, which act as a focal point for many rural communities. That requires not just investment from Government but leadership. I would welcome an independent survey on the way we as a nation attach value to our rural communities because if we take out the GAA, the school and the church, which is at their core, what is left?

I made reference earlier to the fact that our local creamery is gone, as are the local marts. The Minister spoke about the stations. Today many people are opting out of the stations in their homes and prefer to have them in the church. Before, the stations was a time when everybody came together, painted the house, cleaned up the whole place and it was a great celebration. We have lost that. In tandem with this the local pubs and post offices are under siege.

Many businesses are opting not to do business, so that there is a disconnectivity. In yesterday's Irish Examiner and other newspapers it is reported that key social organisations and other bodies are joining with the Irish Postmasters' Union to lobby for local post offices to be kept open. What are we at? Will rural Ireland be dictated to now just by pure economics? Given the Minister's speech and his passionate views, I do not believe that to be the case. For once, can we look at the social value of services in rural Ireland? If we are serious in intent about life in rural Ireland, then we should be advancing connectivity, not isolation. We educate our young people, and they leave for university and get better paid jobs. Many of them want to return but cannot for economic reasons. That means isolation for the people left behind.

The national development plan speaks of vibrant rural communities being vital to the future of the nation and we all subscribe to that. I contend, however, that under the last 11 years of the Celtic tiger, rural Ireland has suffered at the hands of a Government which has failed to manage the cost and competitiveness issues. We have not addressed these and have failed to put sustainable infrastructure into many rural areas, as the recent report published by Agri Aware shows. Are we serious about the national spatial strategy with its objectives concerning more balanced regional development? We need infrastructural development for rural Ireland. I ask the Minister to advocate and promote in Cabinet this emphasis on rural development, so that it has a prime focus. I look forward to next week's unfurling of the Leader programme, to see what we have in store. In terms of innovation and economic dynamism, rural Ireland is not at the game in terms of broadband, roads and the cost of doing business. Other Ministers speak about third and fourth generation broadband. Many parts of rural Ireland do not have first generation broadband.

Large towns act as the hub in the gateway, in rural Ireland, and they need investment. They need oxygen to survive, to be regenerated. Take the town of Macroom, for example, in the constituency of Cork North West, which badly needs a ring road to help it grow and develop and be a focal point. We are told it will be 2015 before it is ready. Then there is the centralisation of medical and health services. As the Minister knows, the trend now is for the development of centres of excellence, with immense consequences for individual families and carers. Then there is the increasing elderly population with the need for care in the home, community based respite beds and places for continuity of care. How and when will these be provided under present Government policy?

I agree with the Minister that the reform treaty should be passed and I hope that the people in rural Ireland and those involved in agriculture will support it, and not link it to the WTO talks. There is a tendency to blame Commissioner Mandelson, and rightly so. However, we need to pass the Lisbon treaty. I ask the Minister to look at the cost of doing business in rural Ireland so that people in relocating industries may have a more competitive advantage. Farming has changed, and it has barely been mentioned today. The average age of people farming today is 55 years and over, with just 8% under 35 years.

The issue of planning needs to be addressed. I will support the Minister, as will my party, if we have can have planning reform in rural Ireland, where the growth in some towns and villages has occurred at the expense of others, due to planning restrictions on one-off housing. Let us have a real debate about planning and tell our planners, who in many cases have no concept of what it means to live in rural Ireland, to listen to those of us who do. In some cases the planning system is creating a two-tier Ireland.

My final reference is to pub closures. I am not advocating drink driving, or anything like that, but the demise of the pub, which was a focal point for many rural communities, has left many people isolated, lonely and vulnerable. As the former Labour Party Deputy, Dr. Moosajee Bhamjee, said recently, to some extent this is contributing to suicide among the elderly. For many older people the pub was a social centre and created a sense of togetherness. We need integrated transport and social and amenity facilities for people in rural Ireland. Many people today believe that we are investing a great deal of money, but there is no action. The reality is that modern rural life is different to what the Minister eloquently described earlier. I wonder whether it is a better place. Is the legacy of 11 years of the Celtic tiger about people losing touch with themselves? I hope it will not be, but I believe it is.