Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am standing in for my colleague, Senator Paddy Burke, who will be here later. I also recognise Senator Michael Mullins in the Chamber.

The Minister of State has outlined the capital review and the next steps. We are down to kernel of the matter, namely, what our priorities will be for the €4.1 billion additional investment in capital spending which will be available between 2018 and 2021 and what the focus will be for the next ten years under the capital investment plan. It is about priorities. It exists in tandem with the new national planning framework which is still in draft form but we expect will come into existence by the end of the year.

I will outline an approach I believe would be helpful to simplify and achieve the Government's objectives outlined by the Minister for Finance in his introductory statement to the mid-term capital review. In his address he referred to balanced regional development and said this mid-term capital review was essential. Thanks to policies pursued by the Government, we are in a totally different economic space. There is the issue of responding to demographic change and why the population is declining in certain areas. Much of the elbow power which the Government has is in its capital expenditure along with other policies such as the Action Plan for Jobs, agencies and so on. The most significant way of shaping the country comes from the capital investment programme.

All things are not equal in the country. I agree there has been a two-tier recovery. Looking back to the last national spatial strategy, it had some good objectives and it identified some good things. Among many areas which are quite far behind, it is not the case that they have been left behind or have not experienced the recovery. We have seen a significant drop in unemployment, but these groups did not experience any investment under the national spatial strategy which was at least 15 years ago. They have been coming from behind and this is compounded because some areas which had capital investment in roads, broadband and so on, can now rise more easily and are more able to attract private and public investment.

As priorities are being considered for 2021, and in ten years' time, these areas which did not experience delivery should be on the top of that list. These are predominantly rural areas. The west and north west is a unique region - I understand there may be areas of Kerry and west Cork whose experience may be similar - where there is no major interurban routes, no high-speed trains and no major ports in the north-north west. It has not had the delivery.

The report highlights historic investment. Can we have figures for historic capital investment in the regions, not only under the current and previous Governments but the one before? Based on looking at things on the ground, I am sure there is an anomaly and there has not been balanced regional development. We will not achieve our objectives for rural Ireland, with all the fine plans, such as the action plan for rural Ireland, the regional action plan for jobs, unless at a strategic level we invest in this infrastructure. It is not all equal on the table. There are figures, and I am asking the Minister of State for them. It cannot be like before when one project is cherry-picked and another is not. There is a case to be made and I am asking for the data for previous levels of capital investment. The national primary roads into these areas should be invested in.

On the objective of renewing rural Ireland, the current economic model from which we work will continue to work against rural Ireland unless we change it. That is reflected in the national planning framework which has been published. It clearly envisages growth in cities. We recognise that but that is happening everywhere, it is in Ireland, the UK, Europe and around the world. People are drawn to the cities for work. Let us say there are two reasons someone would choose to work in an area, because it is an attractive area and there is work available. Rural Ireland is a fantastic place to live, I live there. There has been massive investment by the Government, including the sports capital grant administered by the Minister of State in his previous role from which we see the finest sports facilities around. We see great community effort and great clean places to live which are aesthetically pleasing. We have schools and empty houses. We have schools that need more pupils or will lose a teacher, yet there is the opposite problem in the cities where they are seriously congested. We must take a holistic look at the problem. The economic model we have where we identify something that is needed in an area is just a short-term response. There is rural decline. Populations have declined in Donegal and Mayo in the last census. It is the young people who have gone to the cities. These people are looking for housing in the cities. They want their children to go to school and cannot get places for them and the list of problems goes on. The challenge is for us to encourage the idea that rural areas are areas to invest in and then there will be more work.

The report refers to rates of return economically and socially. This argument that there will not be critical mass is one I often here from Dublin economists, but there will not be critical mass in rural Ireland because people cannot live on fresh air. It is beautiful but one cannot live on that, especially when one is a young person. We all know about the problems of young people being unemployed and it is the same where the Leas-Chathaoirleach is from. The north-north west is in a difficult situation unless something radical is done. I am glad that my fellow county man, Deputy Michael Ring, has been appointed the new Minister for Rural and Community Development and I do not doubt his intention to get something done, but he cannot do it by himself. There has to be fresh thinking. I agree that we need to see research and evidence but I ask the Minister of State to tell us the historic investment in the region. What is the per capitainvestment compared with that of the tax take of the region. I believe there is proportionately less investment compared with the taxes paid in the north-north west. We need data on this. I have not been able to get data.

An organisation that has been identified as being in a position to advise the Government on policy is the Western Development Commission. It is on the ground supporting businesses and doing great work but it does not have the wherewithal to come up with its own data, do economic analysis and give a perspective on economics that is not Dublin-centric. That is what is going on. I ask that it be charged with doing this and feeding in information and data such as how much investment the region is getting compared with tax paid, how much capital investment it has enjoyed, and then we can put all this information into the mix.

At the moment, we need this sort of arm. As well as having the Minister and our action plan for rural Ireland, we need an overarching input and a change from the mindset which is prevalent and which I have encountered on panel discussions. It is a mindset that says "sure, we haven't got the population in rural Ireland. What are you doing that for?" and then they all come to the cities. Are we really going to change it or is just tourism? I believe there is great potential, including on the IT and life sciences side. I know the Minister will be familiar with them but there needs to be some further measure or what is happening at the moment will continue, which is migration to the cities and an undermining of rural Ireland.