John O'Mahony (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and very much welcome this plan to stimulate and support rural Ireland to help it to achieve its full potential. There is no doubt that rural Ireland suffered disproportionately in the upheaval and economic recession that we have experienced over the past ten years. Rural Ireland also suffered during the Celtic tiger period. While there was plenty of cash around and the economy was flying, that cash was misused and rural Ireland lost out in that period. For instance, the national spatial strategy of 2002 envisaged the development of 20 gateway and hub towns, which was a great plan for regional and rural Ireland. However, it was hijacked along the way and political decisions were made not to take any heed of the plan and the proof is in the pudding now. The proof will also be in the pudding for this plan but I welcome the fact that this will be measured and monitored along the way. There is major potential in it and if it is fully implemented, it could change the face of rural and regional Ireland.

The plan must be backed up with funding. When the plan was launched, there was some criticism around a lack of sufficient funding. The reality is, however, that many of the areas mentioned in the plan that will be measured have already been provided with funding. We have, for example, the national broadband plan and while everyone in this House would agree that implementation has been slow, that plan is very close to fruition and the money required has already been provided. The implementation of the broadband plan will change the face of rural Ireland.

This Government and its predecessor have had to pick up the pieces after the economic crash. During the boom times, jobs and infrastructure were not put in place in rural and regional Ireland. Hundreds of thousands of houses were built in the wrong places. There were no jobs to sustain them and no infrastructure to link them. That was the problem at the time and I could give many examples of it. We do not want to make the same mistakes again.

I very much welcome the other plan that was launched today by the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Simon Coveney, entitled Ireland 2040 - Our Plan. If we continue in the current manner, the east coast of Ireland will be choked while the west coast and the rest of regional and rural Ireland will be devoid of development. This is the last chance saloon, in effect. No matter what Government is in place, we need to lay the foundations now so that the plans cannot be tinkered with along the way. I wish the Minister well in implementing this plan because it is our children and our children's children who will benefit from it.