Eileen Lynch (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire agus gabhaim míle buíochas leis as bheith anseo linn inniu. I also take this opportunity to commend him on the work being done by his Department. I am delighted to be speaking about balanced regional development in my role as Fine Gael Seanad spokesperson on rural affairs and community development. Coming from rural mid-Cork, I am incredibly aware of the importance of balanced regional development and decentralisation. Balanced development is not just a policy goal; it is essential if we want a more sustainable and fairer Ireland. At the moment, the gap between Dublin and the rest of the country remains too wide. We need to do more to support regions like Cork, which has the potential to be a major growth centre and a real counterbalance to Dublin. The latest CSO county incomes and regional GDP report has highlighted economic disparity across our country. Dublin continues to have the highest disposable income per person nationally while 35% of all employed persons within the State work in Dublin.

I focus today on two key points, namely, challenges facing our regional economies and the proactive ways in which we can seek to bridge the gap. Investment gaps and infrastructure deficits continue to create barriers to growth in rural areas. I welcome the commitments in the programme for Government to ensure Project Ireland 2040 and the updated national planning framework which support 50:50 balance population growth between the eastern and midland regions and the southern, northern and western regions combined, but it is vital that action is taken to ensure this is the case. Under Project Ireland 2040, my own county of Cork is expected to grow by over 50% by 2040. This is a massive ask but we have the ideas to make it happen with a growing population, a strong university sector, key industries in pharma, ICT and food, a working port and airport, and a city and county with space to grow. We have clear plans for areas like the docklands, new housing, public transport and the Cork to Limerick N-M20. What we do not have is clear and timely funding to deliver those plans and this is the problem. There seems to be real frustration in the country that applications can take too long to process, criteria keep shifting and communication from various Departments can be poor. Local authorities and project teams do not know what to expect as to when they will hear back or how much funding they will get.

Having served on Cork county local authority for the last six years, I believe we have seen a real underinvestment in Cork, particularly in Cork country. This uncertainly delays progress and makes it harder to get private investment on board and undermines public confidence. The same goes for transport infrastructure. We have heard for years about the need to progress the N-M20 Cork to Limerick road and the Cork commuter rail upgrade, but timelines keep slipping and communities are tired of hearing about plans instead of seeing action on the ground. Just yesterday, I attended a briefing on the N-M20 Cork to Limerick road and it is incredibly disappointing to see how slowly this is progressing.

Rural Ireland needs support to stay vibrant, to attract new families and to grow businesses, but again we often see delays and confusion around funding schemes like LEADER, CLÁR and the roll-out of broadband. Communities are doing their part by forming groups, preparing applications and getting planning but they can be left waiting months for decisions or stuck in red tape. If we want people to live and work in rural areas, we have to make it easier to get things done.

We have to see greater transparency in our planning system. While I hope the new Planning and Development Act will improve efficiency and streamlining of planning, we need more objectivity and less subjectivity when it comes to our rural planners. We need to see cross-departmental works to ensure the delivery of affordable housing to allow those who want to stay in the towns and villages in which they grew up to do so. We need to push delivery of service sites throughout the country.

I appreciate that our Government is backing regional growth but we need to be more efficient in how we deliver it. Our regional development policy should continue to prioritise the delivery of rural broadband and investment in an integrated, accessible and flexible rural transport network. We need to improve communication. Departments need to be clear and quicker in how they deal with local authorities and applicants. We need set guidelines and they need to be stuck to. We also need more joined-up thinking, more co-ordination between Departments and agencies so that planning, housing, transport and enterprise policies actually work together in practice and not just on paper. We should also look at whether specific staff in each Department can take responsibility for regional delivery so Cork and other counties have someone to go to who knows the area and can help move things forward. It is also important to mention that we are just over 12 months away from Ireland hosting the Presidency of the Council of the EU, and talks around the multiannual financial framework are taking place. It is imperative that we make cohesion policy and funding a focal point of our Presidency. We need a flexible cohesion policy that will adapt to face the challenges on the ground and the demographic changes. Rural areas and regions must continue to be at the centre of EU cohesion policy. The balanced development of our regions, particularly in rural areas, has a central role to play in Ireland's future. We cannot grow as expected unless the funding, infrastructure and planning system back us up properly. We need more delivery and more follow-through.

People in Cork and across the regions are doing their bit. They are working hard, building businesses and investing in local communities. Now the Government must continue to do its bit also by making funding processes clearer, making decisions faster and infrastructure delivery more consistent, and delivering on its promises in the programme for Government. That is what balanced development really means - progress for all our regions.