Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

Ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas a dhéanamh leis an Seanadóir Doherty as an méid oibre atá déanta aige ar an tuarascáil seo agus cuirim fáilte roimh cuid de na moltaí inti. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire go dtí an Teach chomh maith.

I welcome publication of the report and thank the Leader for allowing us to debate it today. I congratulate Senator Doherty on the work he did in compiling this significant publication and recognise the level of research, time and effort invested in its production. The report demonstrates the strong potential in the regions for development, but in many cases that potential has been ignored. The recommendations made in the report have significant potential and, while I do not agree with all of them, the report is worthy of debate and serious consideration, not just by Government, but by all local and regional authorities in the west. It should be examined by the Minister and his Department when planning a way forward for the regions, which are suffering due to the recession.

The Fine Gael Party has consistently highlighted the need for sustainable development in the regions and I pay tribute to Deputies McGinley and Ring who have been to the forefront in this regard. Deputy McGinley suggested to me that if the money spent on commissioning reports over the years had been spent in the west and north west, we might already have seen some progress.

The Minister touched on many key issues in his remarks, with some of which I agree. Undoubtedly, many challenges face this nation, not least the need to get our spatial strategy right and to have proper balanced regional development. There is an imbalance in the system. For many in government, life ends at the M50 or the N7 and it seems life exists only within that pale for many Members. That is not as it should be.

If we look at the record analytically, we will see there is a haemorrhage or loss of services in rural Ireland and the west, including post offices, banks and health services. Unemployment has changed the face of rural Ireland, particularly in the west. I am aware the Minister referred to an increase in population in the west, but in the heartland of rural Ireland in general there is little life and many areas are bereft of homes and inhabitants.

As Senator Doherty says in his report, we must try to overcome the sense of isolation faced by many people in rural Ireland. I know the Minister is genuine in his philosophy, but people in Gaeltacht regions in the west and in Múscraí feel the pinch and are under pressure; tá siad fé bhrú. We need investment in these areas. We have invested moneys through the Leader, RAPID and CLÁR programmes, but we need to reprioritise the national development plan and build up our hub and gateway towns and cities and focus on and prioritise job creation. We also need to work more closely with the European Union on funding for research and development.

I agree with the Minister that tourism, agriculture, education, recreation and leisure must be part of the development of rural Ireland and the west. Perhaps the over-dependence on agriculture, fishing and construction for employment in the regions has left us in the position we are in and makes the west vulnerable in this time of economic turmoil and meltdown in the construction industry. Between September 2007 and September 2008, just fewer than 30,000 people in these regions joined the live register, accounting for 38% of all the people who signed on during that period nationwide. The construction industry represented 20% of all men employed in the western region.

The Minister spoke about the development of tourism and recreation. There has been a decline of 30% in tourism in the north west over ten years. In my area of Cork and in west Cork, to which Senator Doherty referred in his report, there has been a reduction in the number of tourists. This is linked in part to the issue of the Cork-Swansea ferry and the lack of support from Government for this service. This has cost the south west region €35 million. I welcome the moves by the people of west Cork to try to reinstate the ferry and I hope they are successful in that regard. An active ferry carried significant volumes of passengers and allowed tourists access to Cork and the south west, the tourism hub of Cork and Killarney, the Beara Peninsula and Dingle.

I referred to the spatial strategy and the hubs and gateway towns and cities. We must develop opportunities for job creation and employment in other sectors apart from agriculture and tourism. Third level graduates coming out of college should be encouraged and incentivised to stay in the regions and help to boost regional economies.

Farming and agriculture have had their difficulties. Farmers' incomes are below the national average and the majority of farmers in the western region are in receipt of the single farm payment. I know fishing is not part of the Minister's brief, but it and associated industries in the maritime area have been decimated in the past decade. The fishing fleet has declined by 30% and, although we have a total of 11% of EU fishing waters, Ireland only has 4% of the EU fishing quota. Irish fishing is in serious decline. Many fishermen in Castletownbere in west Cork will state it does not pay them and there is no incentive. Do we want to leave a legacy of having wiped out a generation of seafarers and fishermen?

In the context of the north west, one of the daftest decisions made by the Government was the VAT increase in the budget in October. Many businesses have closed in the short term and jobs have been lost as a consequence of people going across the Border to Newry or Derry. Even the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment described the VAT increase as a total disaster. Why can it not be reversed? Why can it not be used as an economic stimulus to allow Border counties to prosper and reclaim some of the trade they lost rather than having a trade war with our fellow islanders North of the Border. It would also have the effect of helping to reduce the cost of goods and stimulate consumer spending.

I firmly believe that rural Ireland was and is a great place to be educated. I remember my late grandmother trying to persuade my mother to send me to school in the heart of Kerry in Rathmore or Knocknagree from where my mother came.