Alison Comyn (Fianna Fail)

On this budget day, I warmly welcome some great news for Drogheda and Dundalk in Louth. They are both being included in the regional centre scheme under the national planning framework. What this means is they will be included in the living city initiative. This is something I and others have lobbied for for a long time. What will it mean? I have seen it described as a carrot and stick, the carrot being that there will be tax relief to restore older buildings, thus creating over-the-shop living, and we have such a huge problem with dereliction and vacancies and a lack of town centre living. The stick will, of course, be Revenue collecting the derelict sites levies. That will be very bad news for those landlords.

This is coming at such a tremendous time because last night I attended a presentation by the Drogheda city status group showing compelling and irrefutable evidence that Drogheda is already a city and must be seen and taken officially as that. There are in excess of 54,000 citizens within the Drogheda and east Meath area as it stands, projected to rise to 60,000 by 2031.There was talk of a task force, which is exactly what is needed, to make this a city with its own administration. Right now Drogheda and east Meath are administered from Dundalk and Navan. There is nothing in what is, in fact, the sixth city of Ireland. Last night I saw a video that offers compelling evidence. I urge anybody to find it on my Facebook page or that of the "Drogheda City Status" Facebook group. Already 6,500 homes have been built there, which equates to more than 20,000 people, with 2,000 or 3,000 more houses coming down the line. We do not have the infrastructure or the administration and this is exactly what we need. I would like a debate with the Minister, Deputy Browne, on making this an actuality. Drogheda has got to be the latest city in Ireland. Let us make Drogheda a city.