Seanad debates

Wednesday, 23 May 2018

Rural Development: Statements

 

10:30 am

Photo of Kieran O'DonnellKieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Ring, to the Seanad. I commend him on the work he has done to date in rural development. I know it is something close to his heart. He was in Limerick recently and he visited a range of projects such as one that had been funded by the Department in Murroe, County Limerick. He saw what it means to rural Ireland. He is welcome in Limerick any time.

I wish to refer to a few issues and to put them in a local context. We hear a lot about the urban-rural divide. My view is that we need both to be done well. In my area of Limerick city there is a large rural hinterland with satellite towns. One can go five or ten minutes from Limerick city and one is in a rural area. I refer to places such as Mungret, Castleconnell, Murroe, Caherconlish, Ballyneety, Drumbannon and Ballybricken that have always been in the constituency and now areas such as Newport, Ballynahinch and Birdhill have been added which are rural in orientation. Birdhill, which won the Tidy Towns competition is no more than ten minutes from Limerick city and yet it is rural. Ireland has evolved. We now have satellite towns that are in rural areas but they still have very much a rural feel. We must find the synergies, get people to live in rural towns and villages and foster enterprise and local industries. We have many employers in rural areas that employ many people but in some cases they are overlooked. If they were in a city setting people would say they are phenomenal employers but they have been there for many years and we should promote them.

I very much welcome the new round of funding for the town and village renewal scheme. As the Minister well knows, Murroe community council previously qualified for €100,000 worth of funding under the scheme. It has done phenomenal work in terms of walking tracks. I have been working with the council for many years on it. An all-weather pitch has been installed. The Minister saw it in its splendour in good weather and what that means for the community.

The Leader programme is hugely important. Another important scheme is the outdoor recreational infrastructure scheme. I hope another round of such funding will come on stream as well. I would very much welcome it. We must find ways to encourage people to live in towns and villages. A total of €1 billion underpins the Ireland 2040 plan. I am not certain what form it will take but in the past tax relief schemes have been highly effective. We must consider whether there is a need to introduce a grant scheme to encourage people to live in towns and villages. There are businesses in many villages but in many cases the older houses are unoccupied. We need to think outside the box. Attracting people to towns and villages would create a critical mass which would keep shops and pubs alive. Ancillary services would be attracted such as GPs, pharmacies, shops and post offices. Unfortunately, many of the banks are gone from rural towns. If we could attract more people to live in rural towns and villages, that would keep primary and secondary schools going. I have no doubt the Minister is looking at finding some mechanism to encourage people to live in towns and villages, not outside them but within the core. How we do that is not straightforward but we must find ways. Some houses in towns and villages are protected structures and we must consider the provision of grants to renovate those houses and encourage people to come and live in rural towns and villages.

Broadband is key. We must continue the roll-out of broadband. We are dealing with Eir in many cases to try to expedite the roll-out. Broadband is to rural areas what electricity was way back when. If one speaks to people in any business, there is no reason someone in a rural area in east Limerick cannot function in the same way as if he or she were based in Dublin, New York or Frankfurt in terms of broadband. Broadband is the gateway and if we ensure its roll-out at a high level in terms of capacity, it will revolutionise rural towns and villages.

It was great to have the Minister, Deputy Ring, visit Limerick recently. He specifically went to Murroe Boher. People must recognise the importance of rural areas such as Castleconnell, Murroe Boher, Caherconlish, Ballyneety, Newport, Birdhill and Ballynahinch. It is fantastic that the Government has a specific Cabinet Minister for rural development, but it must be done in an integrated way.

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