Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber. I always like to see senior Ministers attending the Seanad so I welcome his presence. I made a submission to the Review to Renew process and I wish to put some of that on the record. I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the review of the national development plan, Ireland 2040. I believe the plan gives Ireland a long-term focus and direction and drives us to invest strategically and regionally. For too long we have had a developer-driven approach to planning which leads to lopsided growth and short-termism in thought and investment. A modern economy must continue to invest in capital projects in order to maintain competitive advantage, give its citizens the infrastructure required and create an environment in which research, innovation and thought can prosper. The present scale of capital spending in Ireland is just about adequate and certainly should not drop below present levels. We need to transition to a green economy, which involves significant capital spending. The present spending on current measures relating to Covid-19 are extremely important but will reduce over the next 12 to 18 months, and we should not allow short-term commitments, though large, to impact long-term investment plans. A consistent guaranteed level of capital spend creates a sustainable construction sector which can plan for the future in terms of capacity and expertise.For too long we had a capital spending model which turned on and off the tap depending on the fiscal climate, resulting in peaks and troughs in capacity and knowledge in the sector. This was inefficient and led to an inability to ramp up capacity in the short term. As others have expressed, I have a concern about the loss of people from the construction sector in the short term, particularly to the UK. Obviously, the pandemic unemployment payment was enough for many people during the winter period, but now with bills to pay, longer days and more opportunities to earn money, some of them are leaving for the UK. I have a concern that that will ramp up and could impact on the delivery of the NDP and the projects that we want to see being completed for our communities.

The number one priority must be the provision of affordable homes throughout the country. This, combined with the provision of sustainable transport across all modes, will go a long way towards developing a better quality of life and a better work-life balance. I welcome some of the commitments in the urban regeneration and development fund announcement made last week.

Prosperity depends on jobs, and investment in rural development, enterprise, skills, innovation and research is key to continued growth in the regions and should be a high priority in the NDP. There is a countrywide spread of top quality educational institutions, and there should be further and closer links with communities and industry to derive innovation and investment. However, we should also nurture frontier research, which is crucial in empowering our researchers to explore and make discoveries of global importance.

The provision of water and wastewater investment is an absolute necessity. The funding issues around the creation of Irish Water cannot be allowed to restrict investment in this area. No development can happen without adequate capacity for water services. It is the one absolute prerequisite for development and, by its nature, can be slow in respect of its construction and delivery. Focus should be placed on towns and villages with poor or no wastewater treatment capacity.

There are a number of key road projects that will solve the identified inadequacy in the road network and which should also be progressed.

It is vital that projects that are costed, managed and delivered with an emphasis on the value to the public. This can be in terms of long-term strategic investment which may involve a high spend originally but will deliver a project which can give a return over generations and facilitate knock-on investments. Typically these will be in transport, water and health services. I welcome the changes that the Minister has proposed and announced in his contribution here today.

I would support the establishment of an independent unit or agency to oversee and deliver large projects. This would be a step further than the proposed external review by the Department. This unit would not decide on the desirability of projects but would draw up tenders and contracts and manage delivery etc. in conjunction with the parent Department. This unit would have expertise in all areas of procurement and project delivery, and the ability to identify problem areas and troubleshoot at the early stage in projects.

The inclusion of individual projects in the NDP has given it, and these projects, credibility, and has provided an acknowledgement that it is worthwhile. A number of projects in the west which have been included in the NDP have progressed through the planning process and delivery will soon begin. A number of the schemes in the urban renewal and rural development areas have been very worthwhile and have funded projects which would otherwise find it difficult to get support.

Even in its early phase, the NDP has had a positive effect on the west and I expect that positivity to grow as more projects and innovations come on line. There are a number of key projects, for example, in housing. There are a number of private and public sites that are ready to go, and indeed private sites on which there is no movement. We must ask why this is happening. Is it the funding stream or the ability to get equity that is the cause of these projects not moving?

I know there is a whole debate on the issue of road and rail projects, but I believe that projects such as bypasses are as much about improving the quality of life and safety in town centres. Motorways, wherever they are built, are replacing national roads to a degree, and therefore making those national roads safer for all road users. That is important, whether it is drivers, pedestrians or cyclists.

On the cycling and greenway projects, a lot of funding has been delivered to date to get these projects moving. That is welcome. Land availability, that is to say, getting landowners on board to deliver them, is the stumbling block in these projects. We have seen that the projects which have been delivered have been on State-owned lands or a voluntary model has been followed, for example, with the Westport greenway project. Therefore, there are challenges in that area.

On wastewater, in east Galway, specifically the area to the east of Galway city, including Oranmore and Athenry, is an area that is crying out for development. It is mentioned in the NDP. It is absolutely vital that those projects are pushed in order for Galway to meet its national planning framework targets. I am sure the Minister will be hearing from constituents about the Inisheer Pier project, which is ready to go.

In respect of projects, I find it hard to advise groups seeking to build community centres. I am referring to larger projects in urban areas that could be valued in the order of €3 million to €5 million.There is no Department to which that group can be sent to get a large chunk of funding to provide a community centre. These are in large urban areas. If the county council or the city council does not have the requisite funding, there is no Department that will do that. I ask that the Minister would consider a community centre fund in the NDP.