Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. Go maire tú do nuacht. Caithfidh mé a rá leis an Bhille seo a bhfuil sé d’aidhm aige soiléiriú a thabhairt maidir leis na Ranna Stáit nua, go bhfuil a mhalairt fíor. Is iomaí polaiteoir anois a Ieagann béim ar an gá chun an saibhreas nua mar dhea, a roinnt go cothrom ar fud an Stáit ach ní fheicim aon bhéim ar na réiglún sa chreatlach nua seo ar chor ar bith.

Last year, the partnership Government of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil was insistent on placing regional development as a high priority. The programme for partnership Government is full of references to how essential it is to revitalise all of Ireland by doing so. This lipservice was clearly a knee-jerk response to the utter failure of Fine Gael's "keep the recovery going" campaign. Fine Gael's inability to appreciate the utter lack of recovery and regional disparity in our State led to voters voicing their frustration at the ballot box. The creation of the new Department was a cosmetic exercise only. None of the responsibilities or budgets was transferred into the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

The former Minister of State with responsibility for regional economic development, Deputy Michael Ring, has now gained full ministerial office, but regional development has been axed. The Minister might argue that regional affairs are still within his remit, but officially they are not. The responsibility has disappeared. It is important to highlight the importance of titles as they indicate who is answerable for what. The absence of a title indicates that the Government no longer considers regional development a priority. Within the Department itself utter confusion abounds. It does not know what is happening. We have asked on a number of occasions what the new titles are and when the transition is happening only to be told, sheepishly, "We don’t know". Clearly, this is not a decision that was teased out, planned for or considered. This was a ministerial position fashioned as a reward for loyalty. That is not to say that the Minister is undeserving of the role. This is no criticism of the Minister's personal abilities, rather it is a structural issue. This is a role and ministerial office conceived in haste for which we will repent at leisure.

The constant chopping and changing of Departments to suit political agendas is costly in expenditure and time. Confusion over demarcation is inevitable. Projects which require time, dedication and intimate understanding are not given the opportunity to get off the ground. Over the past 15 years, the coalition of ministerial titles including community, Gaeltacht, culture and so forth has changed five times. From 2002 to 2010 we had the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. We then had the short-lived Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs followed by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, which reigned from 2011 to 2016. Last year saw the birth of the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. As soon as I could actually remember the full title of the Department, it has changed once more.

What is truly worrying is the absence of leadership, direction, responsibility and proper cohesion. There is no steerage. I have said time and time again that the Government is rudderless regarding regional development and this is nowhere clearer to be seen than in the absence of a national spatial strategy. We have not had one since 2002. We are awaiting a draft national planning framework this summer. Why has it taken so long? Given that this is Fine Gael's second term in government, the delay is incomprehensible and inexcusable. This is nothing new. A White Paper on rural development was published 21 years ago under the Fine Gael rainbow coalition which focused on balanced regional development. The paper prioritised investment incentives to attract FDI to rural areas but this did not happen. We have seen the uneven delivery of jobs by the IDA over the past five years, for example. In 2010, 37% of inward investment was outside the Cork and Dublin areas. In 2011, this was 27% and in 2012 it fell further to 23%. While the figures have improved, investment is still skewed 60% towards Dublin and Cork.

The White Paper stressed the need to provide "broadband or high speed telecommunications facilities, in particular, to facilitate the regional distribution of new services in the rapidly developing e-commerce sector". It further stated: "The provision of services necessitates the development of the requisite infrastructure including fibre optic cable networks and structures for the development of wireless technologies". We are all painfully aware that this has not happened. The same Fine Gael coalition also promised the provision of 22,000 additional local authority houses and support for social housing to encourage developments in villages and small towns which would enable people to live in or as close as possible to their own areas. This did not happen either and there is no political will currently to provide the necessary social housing. What really got me was the commitment by the Government 21 years ago to retain the post office network, and ensure "its use for the delivery of the most comprehensive range possible of State services to all citizens". What we have seen instead is 198 post office closures in Fine Gael's first term of Government and up to 500 closures this year. As such, post office retention most certainly has not happened.

References have been made to the SICAP programme which was an unmitigated disaster in Galway, as I am sure the Minister is well aware. It has to be addressed in the second round. An issue was raised this morning around the deprivation index used to calculate some of the funding provided to different State agencies, which also needs to be reviewed. The role of LCDCs is also questionable in that they have removed power from local communities. Another issue which I know is close to the Minister's heart is the future of our rail network. He might address that. A report is doing the rounds making the case for the closure of our rail networks. Arguing as we are for the establishment and extension of the western rail corridor, we certainly do not agree with that. I would welcome the Minister's commitment to the maintenance, extension and improvement of our rail network nationally. I look forward to further debate with the Minister on these and other issues in the months to come.