Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach for accepting my commencement notice and welcome the Minister of State to the House. I understand that the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Simon Harris, who has direct responsibility for this matter, is unavoidably absent due to Government commitments.

The buildings to which I refer are in the ownership of the OPW and are located in Corofin in County Clare. They are adjacent to the community hall in the town. The buildings have been derelict for many years. There is a very active community council in Corofin, as well as a very active Tidy Towns committee. The Comhaltas branch, with which my colleague Councillor Joe Arkins is involved, is also extremely active. The community has recently invested a significant sum in upgrading its community hall, which was officially opened on 11 September last. Many communities have lots of good people working in them, but Corofin in County Clare is exceptional in terms of sheer commitment, with locals involved in sports, theatre, the arts, Tidy Towns, community groups and so forth. A local community group has expressed an interest in taking over the derelict buildings which are in the ownership of the OPW. They are interested in either purchasing the properties at a nominal price or taking them over on a long-term lease for a nominal fee.They have sent numerous items of correspondence to the Office of Public Works offices in Trim, to which they have always received courteous replies. They have had numerous acknowledgements of their propositions, worded differently but essentially saying the same thing, namely, that there was no interest in doing anything.

I acknowledge that circumstances have now changed. Many Garda stations are vacant, and I salute the Minister for making vacant Garda stations available to members where it was deemed appropriate, which has worked very well. There are numerous examples of former Garda stations being used as spaces for citizens. I suggest that the policy would extend to the buildings adjacent to St. Patrick's Hall in Corofin and that the Government would enter into a partnership with the local community, which is tried and tested and has proven itself time and again in terms of its commitment and ability to get things done and finish the job. That type of partnership has worked well in many cases. I refer to sports capital grants and so on, which are examples of Government going into partnership with communities. Community halls throughout the country have received Leader funding amounting to millions of euro. That is an example of where Government has gone into partnership and supported local communities. What is the difference in providing buildings? These buildings are derelict and open to being vandalised. They are depreciating in value but could add immense social value to the children, young people and the community of Corofin.