Seanad debates

Tuesday, 12 October 2021

Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters

Departmental Schemes

12:00 pm

Photo of Fiona O'LoughlinFiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the extension. I noticed a press release an hour before I came in here announcing its granting. It is welcome, but the constant changing of the goalposts is not acceptable. My concern is that there were seven applicants from four vibrant areas. There should have been many more, and several people to whom I spoke did not submit an application because they knew that they would not have been able to get the works completed by the original date. To a certain extent, therefore, those people are being discriminated against now. If they had realised that there was going to be an extension, then they would certainly have applied.We must address that.

I appreciate what the Minister of State said about vibrancy, etc. I invite him to visit south County Kildare to see the results of these four applications. However, we should not be in the position of looking for and welcoming an extension. When these plans are put in place they must be realistic. They must have smart goals. Local authorities should have more flexibility. I appreciate the Minister of State's comment that they will have that. That is good news as well.

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