Seanad debates

Monday, 22 March 2021

National Development Plan: Statements

 

10:30 am

Photo of Garret AhearnGarret Ahearn (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber. This is the first opportunity I have had to speak with him here and I wish him well in his role. I listened to his statement at the start of the debate. I welcome the review and his comments regarding the need to review costs. This year, we have spent more money than we have ever spent in any calendar year. When putting together a plan for going forward, like the national development plan, we need to make sure that what we are investing in is cost-proof.

One of the main things that jumps out at me, given the area I am from in Tipperary, is broadband. The Department has supported Tipperary with €118 million to invest in broadband and it is important that we welcome that. Just under 26,000 premises in Tipperary are within the intervention area, out of about 77,000. When investing this money in communities like those in Tipperary and around the country, we must do it as quickly as possible, because the more we talk about broadband coming to areas and what percentage of the population now have high-speed broadband, the more we remind the people who do not have broadband that they do not have it. This morning, I got a call from a father who, like most people at the moment due to Covid, is working at home. His wife is also working from home and their kids, who would normally be in school, have been doing their schooling from home for months. There are five people in their house trying to work or attend school with poor broadband service. Broadband is being delivered in an area only 500 m down the road from them, while they are waiting for their broadband. If we have learned anything this year, it is that we need to invest in broadband.

We must recognise the growth in population that will happen over the next number of years. This plan sets out where we see ourselves in 2040, with the population growing to roughly 6 million. Not everyone can live in Dublin so we need to invest in areas outside of it. The investment provided by the Department of Rural and Community Development has been very successful. In Tipperary, just over €35 million has been invested in a range of schemes, from town and village renewal schemes to other schemes to rejuvenate towns, give them an extra lease of life and encourage people to come back into urban areas within rural settings. That is important. Another round of the rural regeneration fund will be coming through soon and areas of Tipperary have made applications for that funding. An application of €3.3 million has been made for Cashel town park. This project would develop a town park right at the bottom of the Rock of Cashel, creating a beautiful setting that would connect the town centre of Cashel to the Rock of Cashel. For a town like Cashel, the last year has been detrimental as regards tourism. Cashel is obviously very well known outside of Ireland and it has been hampered in the last year due to a lack of tourism.I have been working with a local councillor, Declan Burgess, who has been very active on the town park project. It is a project that exemplifies everything we are trying to do through investing in rural areas and I hope we will be able to do it.

I was reading the national development plan that was published a couple of years ago. One of the very first lines in it states the fundamental objectives of the national development framework is to reinforce accessibility between key urban centres of population and the regions. One of the biggest issues we have, and one of my biggest concerns, is the N24 between Limerick and Waterford. It is the worst regional road in the country. Under the national development plan it is to go to design stage, but I have serious concerns that it is not high on the list of priorities of the Department of Transport or the Minister. Will the Minister see fit to continue the N24 to design stage? The contracts are out for the Cahir to Limerick section and then the Cahir to Waterford section. It is the worst primary road in the country. The average speed between Waterford and Limerick is 65 km/h. The average speed that people should be doing on such a primary route is 90 km/h. They are the only two cities not joined by a decent road. At the very least, design stage of the project needs to remain in the national development plan and I ask the Minister to do this. The Minister is familiar with the road that goes to Carrigaline. This is just as bad with regard to traffic congestion.

I concur with what Senator Davitt said about planning applications. It is important we extend them by two years. Many developers and people have planning permission that is due to expire, and if they have to start the whole process over again, it will delay everything, including the building of houses, and this is not good for anyone. Something should be done about this.

A number of people spoke about Irish Water and I have spoken about this a number of times. We need to invest in Irish Water. We need to align the priorities of Irish Water to the priorities of the local development plans of local authorities because they are not aligned at present. I thank the Minister for coming to the House.

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