Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Ann Phelan, to the House. This may be her first time in the House and it is certainly my first time to have the opportunity to exchange views with her on her portfolio.
The good news is that I echo the welcoming comments made by all sides, including by the previous speaker, about her appointment. It was a very imaginative decision by the Government not only to make the appointment of a Minister of State with responsibility for rural affairs, but also to put Deputy Ann Phelan in the job. That is part of the good news. The other part of the good news is that I welcome the opportunity that Mr. Pat Spillane's taskforce has given us to debate rural issues in the House.
However, there is bad news. I am severely constrained in criticising the Government because of my friendship with the Minister of State - both of us served on the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly. I have tremendous admiration for her and I know she will do a very good job. Senator Ó Domhnaill listed the decisions taken by various Ministries since the Government came into power in 2011 that have severely and adversely impacted on rural areas. I am somewhat constrained in launching an all-out attack because of my admiration for the Minister of State and the mere fact that she is now in situwith responsibility for the area. I wish her every success in that regard. I have no doubt that she will bring her vast experience and expertise to bear. As she comes from Kilkenny from outside a large city, she will understand better than most the challenges faced in this area.
Ireland is not unique in terms of the challenges faced by the decline of rural environments. I often cite the French example. Many French villages that were once vibrant now only have a post office and a bakery. There is no heart and soul to such villages and people are living outside. During the Celtic tiger years enormous pressure was brought to bear on Fianna Fáil-led Governments to change the planning laws to accommodate large multinational supermarkets in out-of-town locations to the detriment of the town centres.
The Minister of State may have an opportunity to respond to this. I believe rural communities are fighting back. In many cases these challenges are being met by imaginative decisions being taken by local business groups in association with local authorities. For example, Carrick-on-Shannon in County Leitrim has become very prosperous over the past 20 years - the Celtic tiger years were very positive for the town. It was probably the smallest county town in the country. When I was going to school it had a population of approximately 2,000 to 2,500 and it is now approximately 5,000, which gives it a certain critical mass. When I was on Leitrim County Council we used to say that if we had 5,000 people in one centre in the county it represented critical mass because it could then be economically viable. I believe Carrick-on-Shannon has now reached that and it is now a byword for pleasure seeking of a variety of different denominations - in other words hen parties, stag parties and goodness knows what else-----