Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to welcome the Minister. As her constituency colleague, I know at first hand that she has a genuine passion for rural regeneration and this work.

I am happy to note in the plan that there is to be a monitoring commission and that the plan will be monitored constantly. It is not an aspirational document. That merits repetition. I trust that the Minister will update the House regularly on the monitoring of the plan which is not a paternalistic, patronising document, implying that rural Ireland needs help; rather, it examines the potential and opportunities in rural Ireland. I also welcome that dimension. We are not people who need help but who need an opportunity to realise our potential. All the pillars, aspirations and aims outlined in the plan are supported by money. That is important. For flood risk management, there is an allocation of €80 million. Some €28 million has been committed for towns and villages, €12 million for village renewal, €5 million for CLÁR and €2.8 million for the built heritage. Some €1.3 million has been allocated for Heritage Council schemes, while €275 million has been allocated for broadband provision. I say this to get rid of the erroneous impression that the plan has not been costed and is not specific. It is specific and has been costed and will be monitored.

On the jobs issue, I can only reference a few points quickly, but they are important to me. We all know that there will be potential to attract industries after Brexit. Mr. Shanahan of IDA Ireland has grasped that opportunity and is following up with as many as 1,400 international companies. That is good. What I want to do - we are very fortunate the Minister is present to do it with us - is locate quite a few of the jobs in rural Ireland. I do not have to tell the Minister that the Border region needs these jobs and to experience inward investment. We have a great, well developed indigenous sector. Why should the Border region not have inward investment like everywhere else? We have the necessary infrastructure and educational facilities.

The tourism initiatives included in the plan are good. I am in favour of and welcome them. Reference was made yesterday to the Gathering. There is enormous potential in the concept of the Irish diaspora abroad, on which I urge the Minister to keep working. I was involved on a committee in my area in organising a school reunion. It brought home hundreds of people, some of whom had never been back before. They are now coming back and in touch. Tapping into the diaspora is the key to tourism promotion. Members of the diaspora can be relied on to return as tourists and spend.

I am all in favour of the proposal to get people living over shops again in towns. It has to be made attractive and grant aided. When will there be specific action in that regard? I would like to see it.

Rural post offices are vital. As the Minister's brief covers rural areas, I would like to see her supervising, working with and encouraging her colleagues in the Cabinet to ensure there will be financial services in post offices and a range of attractive features such as tourist information services. The post office should be a one-stop shop for so many activities and should be attractive. We want to keep rural post offices open.

Broadband is the big issue. I probably should have started with it, but I wanted to refer to job creation in rural areas, including Cavan and Monaghan. Providing broadband in Cavan, Monaghan and every other rural area is crucial. I met a woman downstairs who was buying boosters to have broadband in her house. We need broadband in every home. How does the Minister see this coming to fruition?

An area that is close to the Minister's heart and professional background is that of the credit unions. When I was doing a little background reading before making a few remarks today in the limited time we have available, I came across a proposition made by a Mr. McLoughlin, who is involved in community development in County Offaly. He states 1% of credit union moneys or lending potential should be directed towards local job creation initiatives. The Minister is more au faitwith this matter than anyone in the Chamber. Mr. McLoughlin pointed out that the typical local credit union could have €25 million in resources. One per cent of this sum is €250,000, which could be mandated for investment in a job creation project in the village.I appeal to the Minister to so do. I am a great believer in inward investment but I also believe we need to support indigenous jobs. In that regard, the indigenous jobs in our area in the agri-sector are very important. I note that I am beginning to attract the ire and angst of our distinguished Acting Chairman so I will not say much more.