Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister to the House. He will speak for ten minutes. Group spokespersons will also have ten minutes and all other Senators will have five minutes. The Minister will be called on to reply no later than 7.50 p.m., with statements to conclude at 8 p.m.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas le Ceannaire an tSeanaid, an Seanadóir Seán Kyne, as an gcuireadh chun a bheith anseo inniu chun cúrsaí réigiúnacha a phlé. I thank the Leader of the Seanad for the invitation to speak with the Members today on the importance of balanced regional development. Responsibility lies with all of us in Seanad Éireann and Dáil Éireann to help shape an Ireland where opportunity, investment and quality of life are shared fairly across all villages, towns and cities. This Government is committed to balanced regional development and supporting an Ireland where all regions and communities, both rural and urban, have equal opportunities to thrive. We have enshrined in the programme for Government a commitment to driving balanced regional development and supporting rural communities. This commitment is further embedded through the recently revised national planning framework.

Ireland’s population is to increase by approximately 1 million people in the period to 2040 and the Government believes that the needs and wants of the population are better served through fairer and more dispersed growth across the country. The revised national planning framework, NPF, allows us to sustainably plan for this growth and to achieve a more even distribution of population, housing, jobs and infrastructure across all regions.

This ongoing shift to more regionally balanced growth is the focus of whole-of-government policies across a range of areas. It is critical to achieving long-term regional resilience and sustainability. Importantly, Ireland’s rural development policy, Our Rural Future, has provided significant investment and supports, strengthened local economies and improved the lives of many people in rural communities across Ireland. The evidence of this is becoming clear and tangible across towns and villages. Our Rural Future clearly identifies the importance of balanced regional development as a requirement for our overall national development. The programme for Government includes a commitment to build on the momentum achieved under the policy by publishing and implementing the next iteration of Our Rural Future from 2026. Work on Our Rural Future 2.0 is firmly under way, with public consultations taking place today in Tullamore, yesterday in Cork and next week in Connemara. This follows an online survey earlier this year. Later in the year, I will be inviting the public, organisations, community groups and stakeholders to make written submissions. I encourage every Member of the House to communicate this to their constituents and to interest groups in their constituencies. I recall the work the Cathaoirleach did on local government in the previous Seanad. It would be beneficial and useful to the Our Rural Future consultation process if the Seanad Public Consultation Committee were to engage with it.

The Our Rural Future policy is housed in the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht and is backed up with real investment and proof of delivery. Schemes such as the rural regeneration and development fund, RRDF, the town and village renewal scheme, the outdoor recreation investment scheme and LEADER are delivering for rural Ireland. The RRDF is a major programme that seeks to support large-scale ambitious projects that can achieve sustainable economic and social development in rural areas. It has allocated €588 million to 243 projects across Ireland to date. The town and village renewal scheme was introduced in 2016. It is one of a number of measures designed to rejuvenate rural towns and villages throughout Ireland. Since the launch of the scheme, over €177 million has been allocated to almost 1,800 projects. The outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme, ORIS, provides funding for the development and enhancement of outdoor recreational infrastructure such as walking trails, cycleways, blueways and mountain access routes in rural areas. Last year alone, funding of over €20.3 million was announced for 221 projects. These projects matter, because if we want to attract the best people to the best jobs in every region of Ireland, we need the best facilities. We know that a key driver for people choosing where to live, work and rear their families is increasingly outdoor facilities and access to the amazing scenery we have in rural Ireland.

Over the period 2021 to 2024, my Department has allocated a total of over €1.5 billion for rural and community development projects and initiatives and I can assure the Cathaoirleach that we are not done yet. We will continue to support projects and invest in communities to secure effective regional development.

My Department also oversees the implementation of Our Living Islands, the Government policy and action plan aimed at supporting the sustainability and vibrancy of island communities off our coast. Since being appointed as Minister in January, I have made the islands a priority. I have already visited some and I am fully committed to visiting all of them during my term as Minister. It is a great honour for me to be Minister with responsibility for the Gaeltacht. Ní mise an chéad duine as Maigh Eo lena bheith mar Aire. I am following in the footsteps of the late Denis Gallagher and the recently deceased Paddy O'Toole, a former Member of this House. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha.

One of the former Minister, Denis Gallagher's many legacies is the formation of Údarás na Gaeltachta. One of the core functions of the údarás is supporting balanced regional development. It has a mandate to support the economic, social and linguistic development of the Gaeltacht and it has done so with terrific success. In 2024, chruthaigh an t-údarás beagnach 900 post nua sa Ghaeltacht. Tá beagnach 10,000 duine anois fostaithe i gcomhlachtaí a gcuidíonn an t-údarás leo. Tá an network Gteic, a bhfuil 30 hubs aige i ngach cuid den Ghaeltacht, ag déanamh obair an-mhaith agus an-láidir sa Ghaeltacht. The Gteic network, with approximately 30 digital hubs in Gaeltacht areas, provides modern infrastructure for remote workers and small businesses. These are examples of tangible benefits that the team in the údarás are delivering every day.Through strategic investment, innovation and local partnerships in all our Gaeltacht regions, Údarás na Gaeltachta is ensuring employment and development opportunities are available in rural and more peripheral areas. I had a really strong meeting with the executive of údarás on Friday last. Tá sé iontach a chloisteáil go bhfuil obair ar siúl ar chúrsaí AI agus cúrsaí eile digiteacha. Beidh an obair sin an-tábhachtach ag coimeád an t-údarás agus muintir na Gaeltachta páirteach i ngach rud atá ag tarlú i gcúrsaí digiteacha. This work will keep Údarás na Gaeltachta at the cutting edge of job creation, attracting businesses and ensuring Gaeltacht communities have opportunities in this area. I am currently progressing the Údarás na Gaeltachta Bill through the Houses. I look forward to coming back to the Seanad to debate it.

Delivering on our ambition requires robust governance and strategic co-ordination at regional and local level. Our three regional assemblies, together with the 31 local authorities, are crucial in driving balanced regional development by setting and implementing regional and local development policy in line with national objectives. The revised NPF will provide the basis for the review and updating of regional strategies and local authority development plans to reflect key drivers of change to ensure we have a strong, strategic and plan-led approach based on the relevant up-to-date legislative and policy framework.

In terms of the Government's approach and progress towards driving effective regional development, we fully recognise that housing and infrastructure form the foundations upon which economic activity, population growth and access to essential services depend. With a revised NPF, and a new planning and development Act being implemented this year, we will deliver on our commitment to ensure the accelerated delivery of new homes and critical infrastructure projects across the country. Our aim is to ensure housing supply meets new demand, addresses existing need and creates a sustainable future for housing in Ireland. This is maintained by a commitment of €6 billion in investment in housing under budget 2025. The Minister, Deputy Browne, is doing exceptionally good work in tackling the bottlenecks that exist in our housing market.

The revised NPF includes commitments regarding renewable electricity development, both onshore and offshore. It will also support jobs and enterprise in every part of the country. IDA Ireland's Adapt Intelligently strategy for the period to 2029 targets 550 investments in regional locations outside Dublin. Enterprise Ireland also remains fully committed to driving balanced regional development, with 64% of new jobs created by client companies last year located outside Dublin. Projects such as the development of the Ireland West Airport Knock strategic development zone, SDZ, are of strategic importance to the northern and western region. This is recognised by the inclusion of that project in Project Ireland 2040, the west regional enterprise plan and regional spatial plans.

As we all know, tourism plays a key role in balanced regional development. Fáilte Ireland's regional tourism development strategy sets out a strategic approach to unlocking the potential of each region. As an example of our ambition in this area, the Government announced an investment in February of up to €23 million towards the development of a number of sustainable tourism amenities across the Border region. Similarly, the agrifood sector drives economic growth in every rural parish in Ireland, reaching out from every corner of our country to global markets. We will continue to strongly support farmers and our rural communities in the food and agriculture sectors.

I am very clear that communities in every region need access to good-quality public services. Connectivity, both transport and digital, is essential. The Government is strongly committed to protecting the existing regional and local road network, with investment in 2025 alone of €713 million. The public transport network continues to expand across all regions. The Connecting Ireland rural mobility plan has seen more than 150 new or enhanced routes since its introduction in 2021, with over 1.1 million passenger journeys across the network in 2024 alone.

The reopening of the western rail corridor from Claremorris to Athenry, and northwards from Claremorris to Sligo, is critical infrastructure for the Atlantic economic corridor. The redevelopment of that rail corridor is vital to ensure the future of the region both from an economic and environmental perspective, with benefits for connectivity, tourism, freight and sustainable transport. Our regional airports, including Ireland West Airport Knock, offer a massive opportunity for growth. All the regional airports working together can deliver outcomes and access right across the country.

Significant advances in digital connectivity throughout Ireland are enabling remote working, online education and access to digital services across all regions. My Department has provided a national network of almost 400 connected hubs across the country. The programme for Government commits to expanding the remit of the hubs to unlock new potential by enabling ehealth, remote learning and an enhanced digital engagement. Connectivity, both traditional and new, empowers communities to attract investment, retain talent and encourage people to move to those communities. These are key elements of balanced regional development.

Senators can be assured that balanced regional development remains a central priority for the Government. I thank my colleagues in the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht for their huge work in this area since the establishment of the Department in 2007. The Department shows the way in terms of remote working, with bases in Ballina, Na Forbacha and here in Dublin. I thank all who work in the Department for their huge commitment to its mission. Through continued co-ordination, targeted action and engagement with communities, we will ensure every part of our country shares in Ireland's growth and opportunity.

I look forward to this evening's debate and hearing the important contributions of Members. Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach agus leis na Seanadóirí as an díospóireacht seo.

Imelda Goldsboro (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for his comprehensive report. It is great to hear about the different developments. The 2022 census shows, for the first time, population growth throughout all counties. The number of people in employment has increased across the country. This growth comes with both challenges and opportunities.

The Government is committed to balanced regional development. We recognise that the needs and wants of the population can be better fulfilled through more dispersed growth across Ireland. The nationwide roll-out of high-speed broadband and the increase in remote working hubs give people opportunities to work in the communities in which they grew up. We understand and recognise the distinct needs of, and opportunities that exist in, rural Ireland. Meeting those needs and opportunities must be at the heart of the decision-making process.

Through initiatives and investment, we are fostering regional enterprise growth, supporting rural regeneration and ensuring local communities are supported to make their towns, villages and parishes thriving places in which to live, work and raise a family. Last week, the Minister announced funding of more than €7 million for the local enhancement programme. That scheme has had a significantly positive impact on many communities and small organisations run by volunteers. For that we thank him.

The Minister referred to a number of key achievements. His Department continues to work with towns and villages to ensure renewal and revitalisation. We see the growth that is bringing, along with the changes, enhancements and development to rural areas. Funding is coming into rural communities for broadband and other services. It is all about linkage and connectivity, including by way of the community hubs. The Minister talked about unlocking new opportunities in rural communities and utilising the hubs as a solution for meeting community needs. We all saw the impact of the storms some months ago on our cities, towns and villages. Significant development has gone into those communities. The Department was the go-to in times of emergencies, when so many people were without water and power.

Job creation is part of regional development. Important work is being done with IDA Ireland to spread foreign direct investment across the country and ensure at least half of IDA investments are located outside Dublin. The Government is prioritising locating new State agencies in cities and towns outside Dublin. The Government continues to advance a balanced approach to regional development, cognisant that the European Commission has identified the north west as requiring additional support. I shall now turn to our town centres and tackling vacancy and the regeneration of our towns and villages. We see this in our towns and villages. In the village of Ballingarry, where I am from, 75% of the houses on our main street are, unfortunately, up for sale. We can see how it is dwindling. We note the significant impact that the croí cónaithe grant has brought into play and what it has done for rural areas, but much more needs to be done. This I appreciate when we work with our councils through the different schemes such as the rural regeneration and development fund, RRDF, and the town and village renewal scheme, and to see how we can revitalise and rejuvenate those villages. As we know, the demise our villages is a concern. People's buying patterns are changing and lots of rural businesses are diminishing. I note that we are proposing to have an above-the-shop grant specifically to convert premises in rural towns for residential use in recognition of the additional complexities involved in renovating these spaces.

The work on the development and retention of community-run shops and cafes is a significant factor in our rural areas. We have a number of community cafés in Tipperary that are run by volunteers and the service they are providing in rural areas is phenomenal. They bring communities together to a central hub where people can talk, where they are socially included, and the service is where they can get a breakfast and have a chat and meet somebody. It is about social inclusion in rural areas. I ask the Minister, Deputy Calleary, if funding can be provided for community cafés. All our community cafés are facing the challenge of high energy costs right now. The service is priceless for our communities. The loss of that service would be detrimental for some rural communities because it is a lifeline for so many people.

The Minister also emphasised transport, the funding that has gone into transport, the progress in all the key areas of public infrastructure that we are making and the national development plan. We need to increase the provision of Local Link services in our rural areas to better connect the villages, towns and cities. We need to continue the roll-out of Connecting Ireland and investment in new town buses, to expand the bus services in cities and to continue to strengthen local urban towns. Some of our villages have seen the positive impact of these services but, unfortunately, more work needs to be done. Some of our villages do not have any public transport and they do not have taxis. It would join the villages and communities together to allow them to get supports and services. Continued investment in Connecting Ireland through our services and the TFI Local Link networks is having a positive impact. The funding has been administered and we can see the areas that are benefiting from it. I know that our rail-connected rural communities are going to benefit from the increased levels of investment being made to support steady-state levels of maintenance and renewal.

With regard to tourism, one of Ireland's greatest strengths is its stunning natural amenities. Every county, town and village has its own unique natural assets, whether it is our forest parks, mountain trails, rivers, greenways, bogs or beaches. We have already seen the huge economic benefits that the investment in the greenway projects has delivered for our local towns and villages. As we speak here this evening I am proud to say that we opened the beautiful Littleton Labyrinth this afternoon in Tipperary. We thank the Government for the funding for the project and we can see what it has done for this rural area. Phase one has been completed and we are awaiting more funding. We look forward to people using it. The car parks are filled from morning to evening. It is a phenomenal success.

Fáilte Ireland's four regional strategies for the Wild Atlantic Way, the Ancient East, the Hidden Heartlands and Dublin provide a framework for sustainable tourism right across Ireland. Working with Fáilte Ireland to develop a balanced regional spread of tourism throughout the country, further advancing the experience, developing more blueway projects across the country and continuing to invest in key regional tourism projects under the RRDF is what we need. Through the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme there has been investment in walkways, cycle ways, tidal pools and other amenities at local level. I am sure that all of us here have seen the benefits at local level in our counties and have seen what it has done for our areas. There is also work with Coillte to continue to invest in upgrades of visitor amenities at forest parks across the country.

The Minister spoke of the Gaeltacht and its importance. Irish is a unique part of our heritage and the Government is committed to the protection and promotion of the Irish language. It is the first language of our State. We will be putting in place targeted measures and we have done great work with Údarás na Gaeltachta and other stakeholders to ensure adequate provision of housing and community services in Gaeltacht communities.

The Our Living Islands plan, launched in 2023, was the first such policy to be published in 27 years. It is an ambitious strategy underpinned by an action plan. The action plan consists of 80 new time-bound actions to be implemented by the various stakeholders and led by the relevant Government Department or State agency. We have established the positivities of all these changes and the benefits they have had to our communities. We thank the Minister for coming here this evening, for the work that he has delivered and the funding to date for our communities.

Joe Conway (Independent)
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Cuirim fíorfháilte roimh an Aire, atá anseo anocht i measc na hoibre tábhachtaí atá idir lámha aige i láthair na huaire agus a bheidh ag dul ar aghaidh sa todhchaí. Gabhaim míle buíochas leis as sin. Balanced regional development is akin to what I think is virtue. We all claim to aspire to it but what results is often a sullied product born of self-interest and displaying little that is manifestly virtuous. It is an inescapable truth that all countries are the jealous possessors of a piece of national confectionery known as the national cake. This can, depending on the exigencies of the moment, shrink or grow but it serves little purpose if it is not shared out. As the immortal Bard once wrote, "Ay, there's the rub".

When the first sector is cut from the cake it has an immutable effect on the remainder, as do all successive cuts. In the national sense, if those who wield the baker's blade fail to ensure a fair cut, it results in disaffection, with regional and economic retardation in many sections of the State. There are many factors that affect the apportionment of funds for regional development, such as population, social disadvantage, unemployment, investment, location, and historical issues to name but a small few. There is an immutable law, as I see it, however, that underpins regional development and investment. As the cake is for division, if you level up in one area it is almost inevitable that you are going to have to level down somewhere else.

I am going to digress here just for a moment. We all remember the chaotic times when Boris was Prime Minister and he spoke of one of his favourite projects, which was levelling up. From those chaotic days of Boris's premiership it was such a Holy Grail for the Tory Ministers at the time that they were tripping over the slats, trying to claim ownership of the term "levelling up". One Minister, Justine Greening, nearly came to blows with Boris because she claimed authorship of the phrase back in 2014. Anyway, by the time the general election came last year about 10% for the money set aside for levelling up was used for so-called levelling up. Levelling up or, more correctly, compensatory regional development is a hard act to do well, if at all.Coming from the south east, it would be easy to get sucked into a non-productive whinge-fest about regional planning as it pertains in that area. I could instance the fact that the entire south east has had fewer IDA visits than the whole of County Clare. I could itemise, if I were bad-minded enough, the abysmal failure to invest in connectivity in the south east, for example, the N25 - there was a mass meeting last night about the Euroroute - a single carriageway road with a 400% traffic increase, the N24 blackballed again from funding a couple of months ago into what seems like an endless limbo, a train service from Waterford to the capital that takes ages because that express train has to chug into Kilkenny and reverse back out again, and an airport that needs a paltry Government grant, something in the area of €12 million or €15 million, to lengthen and widen the runway. The Minister spoke about connectivity and the regional airports. The people of Waterford and the surrounding counties are there now with their noses to the window looking in from the frost at the cosy room where, inside, Daidí na Nollag Micheál is disbursing €200 million to Cork. I could, if I were a real malcontent, talk about our technological university, SETU, which of the five technological universities gets what the Minister's fellow countryman, the late great John Healy, used to call in The Irish Timesthe hind tit funding. It gets the least of all the five technological universities, even though all four others have full universities located there. I will draw this minor complaint to an end now. If life and love and the love of life mattered at all to me, I could remind the House of our university hospital that had to fight tooth and nail to get a cath lab open at weekends. The black humour of the Déise said you must not have a coronary in Waterford at the weekend because, if you do, you are heading for bealach na nDéise.

Why are these inhibitors and many more in existence? As I said, I will not traumatise the Minister's evening with any Déise whinge-fest but why do these situations prevail? I will give the House a little hint. The last two major infrastructural developments in Waterford were, in 2004, the suspension toll bridge, the great second river crossing, and in 2006, when the M9 was extended to Waterford. Who do you think was the Minister for transport at the time? It was none other than the much-loved Martin Cullen, a Fianna Fáil Minister for transport from the Déise. Since then, nada. Balanced regional development is often now predicated in this type of balance. It is balanced in relation to the number of Ministers you can balance in or around your constituency. Most of those in this House are far too young to remember the seemingly endless conflict that carried on between Prime Minster Thatcher and the unions between 1979 and 1990. One of her doughty adversaries at the time was a man called Sidney Weighell. He was the general secretary of the National Union of Railwaymen in the UK. He also played football with great aplomb for Newcastle, Sunderland and Sheffield United. When we was asked about the philosophy that underpinned free collective bargaining, he said, mangling his metaphors in his usual direct Yorkshire way, that free collective bargaining followed the dictates of the pig trough in that those with the biggest snouts get the lion's share of the swill. I fear balanced regional development has to find an antidote to this type of politics and clientelism that thrives on the big snout syndrome. Unless and until we devise a formula for muzzling those gigantic snouts we will continue to have dysfunction and consequent disaffection throughout the land because the regional planning schema will be still unfit for purpose. The answers are obvious but they are not easy.

Eileen Lynch (Fine Gael)
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I am sharing time with an Seanadóir Kyne.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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Is that agreed? Agreed.

Eileen Lynch (Fine Gael)
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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.

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire chuig an Seanad chun labhairt faoin ábhar tábhachtach seo. I thank the Minister for accepting the invitation to come in and talk about this very important issue. I wish him well in his role because his success is important for the region.

I know the Minister attended the Northern and Western Regional Assembly briefing last week, where a graph was shared on investment and the differences between the regions. The northern and western region, having 17.6% of the population, had 9.9% of the share of investment in public tenders worth more than €1 million and 5.7% of the share of investment in public tenders worth more than €20 million. Compare that with the eastern and midland region, which has 49.3% of the population but has 66.5% of the investment in public tenders over €1 million and 75% of the share of investment in public tenders worth more than €20 million. I know changing that is in not in the Minister's gift, and I am not pretending it is. It is not even in the Government's gift because State agencies are involved in the investment decisions that are made as well. I know the review of the national development plan will be hugely important in that regard but I think those figures are stark. Nobody is suggesting that the areas with the highest population should not get the most investment but the disparity between the regions is quite stark.

With regard to Senator Conway, and I know he has left the Chamber, he did not mention the transformative Waterford North Quays development, which I think is the largest public infrastructure project at present outside of Dublin. It will involve new transport hubs, a sustainability bridge and a greenway. It is worth over €200 million. I commend the Ministers of State, Deputies John Cummins and Mary Butler, on their advocacy and work on that, as well as the councillors and team in Waterford City and County Council.

Tá sé ráite go minic agam go bhfuil an t-ádh orainn san iarthar go bhfuil an t-údarás ag feidhmiú ar son na réigiún sin agus ag tacú leis na háiteanna fíorbheaga agus leis na comhlachtaí atá ag obair ar son na n-áiteanna sin. Tá sé sin fíorthábhachtach. The ongoing investment in Údarás na Gaeltachta is important, and I wish the Minister well on that.

The Minister mentioned the western rail corridor, and I welcome that. I know he is a strong supporter of that, as am I and many other Members in this House. I know the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Canney, is as well. It is hugely important that we deliver that project. We spent a lot of time carrying out reviews, analyses, a business case and everything else. It should be one of the simpler projects to deliver, initially to Claremorris, then to Sligo and then to Donegal. It makes perfect sense and it will be so important for the region.

The Galway city ring road is something that has been spoken about for so long. It is a major project. It is back in with An Bord Pleanála at the moment but it is hugely important with regard to our western region and Connemara.

Finally, on the investment by Irish Water, I know it will hopefully be getting some of the Apple money and will be tasked with investing in areas that can deliver housing. That is hugely important because there are so many communities across the west and the country that have the potential to grow but do not have the proper infrastructure in place. Continued investment in Irish Water, ensuring that it spends that money wisely for the development of homes, is very important and that is why the collaborative all-of-government approach, the work of the Cabinet collectively and the review of the national development plan will be vital. I wish the Minister well in his work over the years ahead.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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Before I call on the next speaker, I welcome Rachel Harper and Allen Bobinac, guests of Senator Aubrey McCarthy. They are most welcome to Seanad Éireann today and they are with a very fine Senator. I now call Senator Nicole Ryan. Is the Senator sharing time?

Nicole Ryan (Sinn Fein)
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Yes.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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Is that agreed? Agreed.

Nicole Ryan (Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach. Community is the bedrock of Irish society. It sustains us, strengthens us and gives meaning to our lives. In times of crisis and calm, it is our communities, and the people who hold them together, who provide the care, connection and resilience that this State often fails to deliver. Yet, the very sector that sustains us, the community and voluntary sector, is chronically underfunded, undervalued and underappreciated. This Government is happy to rely on community groups to fill in the gaps left by public services but refuses to resource them adequately.

Investment in community infrastructure, in local halls, youth centres, family resource centres, men’s sheds and women’s groups, has simply not kept pace with demand. In fact, there are large towns in this country with no dedicated community or family resource centres at all. This is not a policy oversight; it is an indictment of Government inaction and indifference stretching back decades. It is not just the voluntary sector that is feeling the strain. Rural Ireland is being managed into decline, piece by piece, decision by decision, through deliberate neglect, urban-centric policies and a failure to tackle the issues that matter most.

Rural communities have been in decline for decades, and this decline is not an accident. It is the result of choices made in this Chamber and in Government Buildings. They are choices to underfund infrastructure, to let local transport routes wither, to allow GPs to vanish without replacement, to close over 160 post offices and to enforce planning restrictions that make it nearly impossible for young people to build homes in their own towns and villages.

What we are watching is the slow erosion of rural Ireland, and the Government is watching it happen. What we need is affordable homes in rural towns and villages; serviced sites for self-builds, so that people can build homes in the areas they grew up in; a planning system that actually reflects the needs of rural families, not one-size-fits-all bureaucracy designed around urban priorities; and investment in GP services, local transport, childcare and broadband. All those aspects that have been mentioned here today are the essential infrastructure for modern life in rural Ireland.

The decline in the Gaeltacht is very alarming. We keep saying we are investing so much in the Gaeltacht and that all this is happening but the reality for people living in the Gaeltacht is very different from what we are hearing on TV and reading in the papers. These communities not only face the same lack of services and housing as elsewhere in rural Ireland but also carry the responsibility of preserving our native language and culture. Instead of protecting and nurturing them, the Government is letting them slip away. The failure to support Gaeltacht housing, education through Irish and community-led cultural initiatives is not just policy failure. It is a betrayal of our identity. We need targeted investment in Gaeltacht housing, incentives for young families to remain or return, and planning reforms that empower communities to grow sustainably while preserving the Irish language. The Gaeltacht is not a museum. It is a living, breathing part of who we are and it deserves a whole lot more than tokenism.

While many housing decisions rest with another Department, the Minister has a central role to play in shaping the planning framework, delivering serviced land, supporting community infrastructure and bringing real ambition to the next rural strategy. Rural Ireland is crying out for action, not another glossy document filled with photo ops and vague aspirations. Without urgent intervention, the managed decline of rural Ireland will not just continue but will become official Government policy.

Críochnóidh mé leis seo a rá; ní gá dúinn an roth a chumadh arís. Tá a fhios ag pobail cad a oibríonn cheana féin. Tá siad ag coinneáil rudaí le chéile in ainneoin an Stáit, ní mar gheall air. Níl siad ag iarraidh ach tacaíocht, meas agus deis chothrom le todhchaí a thógáil. An bhfuil an méid sin á lorg acu i ndáiríre?

Joanne Collins (Sinn Fein)
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I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak on balanced regional development, but the very idea of balanced regional development is at odds with our current national development plan. The plan seeks to put half of Ireland's population in the Dublin region. That means half of us will live, work and commute in a tiny corner of the country, while the rest of the country is left underinvested, neglected and stranded on the margins. How will we provide water services and infrastructure for this massive growth in a small area? The answer we have been presented with is to pump and pipe the water from the River Shannon at a cost and to ignore the reality that key towns across Ireland are already on lockdown due to decades of underinvestment in water and sewerage.

Yesterday, I attended a briefing on the M20 motorway road, a road that is meant to connect counties Limerick and Cork. At long last it is on the agenda, but the delivery timeline stretches well into the middle of the next decade. To add insult to injury, it looks like this road could be entirely tolled at every section, a literal price we pay for not following balanced policy from the outset. We are forever held hostage by the one big idea in Ireland's planning and development. At one time, it was the building of new towns, a policy meant to kick-start employment and provide houses without delivering services, amenities or a real future for these communities. Shannon Town was a rare exception. It was founded in the 1960s alongside the successful Shannon Airport. In almost 60 years since, however, we have not kept up. We have failed to match its growth with proper infrastructure, healthcare, education and employment. The result has been persistent underinvestment all along the western seaboard. The midlands, the south and the west should not become commuter belts for Dublin or holiday playgrounds for the wealthy. Our communities deserve better.

Back in the 1960s, the Buchanan report tried to bring forward a policy for balanced growth, a policy that was promptly shelved for almost 40 years. Later, we had gateways and hubs, a policy meant to reflect Ireland's unique regional potential, but it fell victim to political pressure. There were gateways for everyone, which made it meaningless. We had a policy by acronym and not by necessity. Then we tried decentralisation, a policy meant to move Civil Service jobs out of Dublin. This simply reshuffled job titles. It kept the centralised structures in place and stranded many people in career culs-de-sac. It was people we should have relocated, supported by providing multiagency hubs, not just office furniture and files.

The fundamental problem in all these approaches is the view that there should be one winner. A small number of places thrive, while the rest are left stranded. There are no winners in this scenario. Everyone loses when we undermine the very communities we aim to serve. We need to step back and move away from the cyclical plans made from the top down and restart from the bottom up, from the communities themselves. We need a grassroots appraisal of what each area needs, whether it is a small town, a rural parish or a city neighbourhood. This is not about grand promises or sprawling plans. It is about strong, viable communities and putting people first through their employment prospects, education, healthcare and being able to live, work and raise their families in their own place. Let us leave aside the one big idea policy and start listening to the people who live in these communities. Balanced development should be a policy made by and for all of Ireland, not just a few.

Shane Curley (Fianna Fail)
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Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis an Aire as bheith anseo inniu don díospóireacht thar a bheith tábhachtach seo. Before I move on, I wish to note a couple of things I picked up from the previous contributors. First, with great respect, there was a suggestion made by Senator Ryan that we engage in a betrayal of our national identity with a lack of investment in the Irish language. I am a living, breathing example of the exact opposite. My parents do not have a word of Irish but I am fluent because of the investment in Gaeltacht areas. I wish to contradict what was said.

As a councillor, I have seen huge investment in my own local town of Loughrea through the RRDF funding for projects like the town hall. This has ensured the vital sustainability of rural Ireland such as my own local town. However, there are a few constructive suggestions I would like to bring to the table. For example, we have 17.6% of the population of Ireland in the midlands and the north west, yet when it comes to tenders of €1 million, we have enjoyed just 9.9% of them since 2016, and just 5.7% of those in excess of €20 million. There is a need for a small rebalancing there. The Minister engages in good work in the Department, but I would like to see a bit of rebalancing in that Department, particularly in projects like the western rail corridor and the east Galway main drainage scheme, which has been a huge inhibitor to the development housing over recent years. That is something I would like to see developed as time goes on.

Maidir le cúram leanaí agus an Ghaeilge mar theanga, níl ionad cúram leanaí lán-Ghaeilge amháin in Éirinn taobh amuigh den Ghaeltacht sna 26 chontae, ach tá trí cinn i mBéal Feirste. Más féidir, tá géarghá le hinfheistíocht san earnáil cúram leanaí sna blianta atá romhainn.

Mar fhocal scoir, if we want our young people to set down roots and invest in the midlands and the north west, we need to make sure that we have a rebalancing of investment in that area.

PJ Murphy (Fine Gael)
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It is nice to be able to speak about balanced regional development with a Minister who is also from the west.

As my colleague just mentioned, in the north west we have indeed 17.6% of the nation's population. As was also mentioned, between 2016 and 2024, our share of investment in public tenders worth more than €1 million was a mere 9.9%. To make matters worse, between 2016 and 2024, our share of investment in public tenders worth more than €20 million was a paltry 5.7%. Coming from a place called Ardrahan in south Galway, the very southern end of the western region, my own village benefited some years ago from the reopening of the first phase of the western rail corridor between Limerick and Athenry. Despite considerable negativity about the project at the time, it has proven to be a very successful and transformative project for my area and other villages that have been serviced by it. Phase 2 of the western rail corridor between Athenry and Claremorris is a shovel-ready project as the Minister knows, and I know he is a great supporter of that project. The land is under State ownership and the estimated cost is approximately €20 million. That is one tenth of the cost of delivering the same stretch in km of motorway. It would serve Claremorris, Tuam and, quite importantly, Abbeyknockmoy, which could provide a park and ride hub to Galway city for commuters coming from the Roscommon side. Phase 2 of the western rail corridor is something that must be progressed as a matter of urgency.

In phase 3 of the western rail corridor between Claremorris and Sligo, and I must add that Sligo is the second largest town in Connacht, again all land required for the reopening of this section of rail is under State ownership. An eight-minute shuttle bus journey between Charlestown station and Knock Airport terminal would provide a service that is found in every modern airport throughout Europe. On that note, when we talk about shuttle buses between rail stations and airport terminals, since the opening of the first phase of the western rail corridor between Limerick and Athenry, we have still not seen a shuttle bus put in place between Sixmilebridge Station and Shannon Airport terminal. Not only should that shuttle bus be long in place, we should be gone beyond that. We should be looking at light rail infrastructure by now between Sixmilebridge and the Shannon Airport terminal.

Recently, as the Minister knows, the north west was redesignated by the European Union as a lagging region. We need urgent measures to ensure we in the north west get our fair share of the pie. The infrastructure I have spoken about in the western rail corridor is shovel-ready. It is widely expected that it will form part of the national development plan. We must have no further postponements of this. I know the Minister is a supporter of this project. He is a west of Ireland man and I urge him to proceed with this project as a matter of urgency and use all his influence within the Cabinet and the transport Department, etc., to ensure this much-needed project for the west of Ireland proceeds as a matter of urgency.

Pauline Tully (Sinn Fein)
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We are talking about balanced regional development, but it is anything but balanced. I come from Cavan, a Border county that is a part of the northern and western region of Ireland, which is ranked No. 218 out of 234 EU regions in terms of transport infrastructure. Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal have no rail service. They did 65 years ago but all was stopped by a Government that had absolutely no foresight in favour of a lobby by car manufacturers to get people into cars. Even the road infrastructure is very poor. The M3, which comes from Dublin towards Cavan, stops at the Meath border and does not go into Cavan, causing a bottleneck at Virginia several times a day every day. There was talk more than 20 years ago of a Virginia bypass. I was a member of Cavan County Council at the time and we talked about preferred routes. That was all abandoned when the recession came. There is talk of it again now and it is back on the agenda, but God knows at what cost. There was a cost to initially planning it before it had to be abandoned. All the costs have accumulated again and we are still talking about another five, six or seven years before we see the end result.

There is quite a considerable piece of land just outside Virginia. It would be perfect for industrial development but cannot be developed because of the transport infrastructure. That has been said. It has been sitting there for years. It would bring much-needed employment into an area that is very dependent on agriculture mainly and on small industry as well. There is no clear mass of investment.

The area, the northern and western region, had the lowest share of investment in public tenders worth more than €1 million, at less than 10%, compared with the eastern and midland region, which constituted 66.5%. Of the larger tenders of more than €20 million, the area saw less than 6%, while the eastern and midland regions saw 75.2%. There is a significant imbalance.

There is also lower investment in undergraduate funding in the northern and western region. We have an equal share of graduates but they cannot find work in the region and are forced to work in another region of Ireland or another country altogether because of the lack of investment. We need investment in transport and energy. We also need investment in water and wastewater services because housing is needed if we want to increase employment in an area. It is a deterrent to investors coming into the region because they cannot find housing for their workers. For all of those things to happen, there must be significant investment.

We cannot overestimate the significant negative impact that the hard border had on the Cavan-Monaghan and Border regions for many years. Local roads were blown up and communities were divided. Farms were even divided at the time. I commend the incredible work of the Irish Central Border Area Network, ICBAN, and the other regional Border authorities that are working with their counterparts in the North and trying to bring investment into the area. It has been successful to a degree but it is not sufficient and more needs to be done.

Tourism also needs investment. Someone said to me during the pandemic when they could not go abroad that they visited Cavan instead. They said it is a hidden gem that is not promoted. We could look at that. Anything that will create more employment opportunities for people in those regions needs to be considered and invested in. I thank the Minister.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
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The Minister is welcome to the Chamber. I was delighted when I saw his name beside this Department and portfolio because I believe he has a unique and innate understanding of the different regions of Ireland, and a great passion for the people of Ireland. He can relate to all of them. I saw that at first hand when he had his previous portfolio. He was traversing Ireland when I had the good fortune to escort him around south Kildare to see some of our local small family businesses, and he was able to respond to them. To a person, I know they appreciated his support and that he got where they were at. There is no doubt but that we, as a country, are facing challenges but there are also strong opportunities out there.

When we talk about balanced development, we are talking about rural and urban development in different parts of the country. In Kildare, we have both an urban and a rural population. The Minister saw at first hand a small area in north-west Kildare, including Rathanagan, Allenwood, Derrinturn and Carbery, where there is not a lot of industry. I believe it is ripe for a good apprenticeship school. Many years ago, when Bord na Móna was the largest employer in the area, people travelled from all over the country to do apprenticeships, and many of those small towns and villages grew up around that. Now we have a dearth of those types of training facilities and apprenticeships. I am not going to say there is no connectivity because there is some, and we were thrilled that two weeks ago, the 888 bus commenced, linking Allenwood, Rathangan, Monasterevin and Athy. However, we need to look at areas where there is unemployment. There is a need for a cohesive community to come together around further education and employment. That area could contribute. While the apprenticeship area is not directly within the Minister's Department, there is a strong link with it. In terms of connected hubs and driving job creation, that is where we need to be expanding some of the excellent apprenticeship programmes we have but doing so in the community.

Tourism is also a part. When you look at it, you have a little bit of everything, which is difficult because there are a lot of different homes. Tourism is a part of how we can regenerate areas. The blueway is a big part of Kildare and I look forward to bringing the Minister to the area and showing him what we have done. It has not yet been formally launched and there are still some works to be done, including a pedestrian bridge that has just started construction in Rathangan. The blueway is a catalyst for a lot of investment in the area. It is for the local people as well as attracting visitors to our region.

When we talk about tourism, the Curragh of Kildare absolutely needs to be a heritage park. It is a very special place that is, of course, home to the Army, the horse industry and lots of sheep. It was home to the legendary Fionn mac Cumhaill and to St. Brigid. Kildare County Council and the Department of Defence have brought forward an excellent plan to attract people to the Curragh. It needs investment and another agency to be charged with looking after it, which will be subject to legislation coming down the line. I would again be happy to show the Minister around all these lovely parts.

The revitalisation of town centres, which I know the Minister is passionate about, is key to many of us and the areas we represent. Covid brought home to us that we all have places of beauty and great pride in where we live. The opportunity to revitalise our town centres is badly needed. People in other European cities are living over shops. We see communities gathering on the main streets of those cities in the evening time for social reasons. We do not have that, and it is something we need to put in place.

I thank the Minister for his work to date and wish him well. I know he will make a difference within his portfolio.

Niall Blaney (Fianna Fail)
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I too welcome the Minister to the House and wish him well in his portfolio. It is appropriate that we are discussing balanced regional development because the Minister is well-equipped to know about balanced regional development and what we in the western and northern and midland regions are missing. Like others, I was at the Northern and Western Regional Assembly presentation last week.Many Members have alluded to the fact that there is a population of almost 1 million over there, including 500,000 workers, but there is still slightly higher unemployment than in the rest of the country. I will come back to that fact. I have many percentages written down here, with regard to population, tenders, etc. and what we are missing out on. Those figures have been given out and I will not go over them again. However, it is fair to say we are not getting our fair share, particularly in relation to the east and the midland region, but also to the southern region. It is time we got our fair share. It is time the national development plan became balanced. It is not just about balancing at this stage. It is about positive discrimination, as well as catching up. In our region we have one of the highest percentages of those with a degree. We are the highest in the country, but universally we are right up there. We have to start getting our fair share when it comes to universities, and similarly with regard to health. Many of the hospitals in our regions are doing more with fewer funds but are scrapping to keep services going and to catch up with waiting lists. On the back of all that, we are then trying to attract consultants with new positions made vacant. That is hard going when hospitals are not properly funded and the types of services we should have are not there yet.

The Minister is aware that national primary routes still need to be delivered in our region. I am delighted the A5 has got €600 million from the Government. I look forward to the court case in Northern Ireland coming to a successful conclusion. I know there is the possibility of an appeal there, but at least that appeal will only be for a six-week period. That is a really important strategic route for us in the north west. The N2 is another piece that TII needs to do a lot more work on. That is the southern end, and they are well behind in planning and need to move it on. The Ten-T planning process is well under way, and I look forward to that getting to tender within the next 15 months. With regard to rail, I do not have to tell the Minister we have no rail. It is imperative that a plan be put in place for the all-Ireland rail strategy. Even if it is 40 years down the road, a plan has to be put in place. We need to think ahead in that regard, and there has to be joined-up thinking. Derry has to be joined by Donegal, and Donegal with the west coast. There has to be an all-Ireland strategy with regard to rail.

The potential for offshore floating wind in the north west has not been realised. This is a point I want to drive home very strongly today. With whatever wind energy sites we have in Donegal and the turbine in Ballyshannon, 23 hours of what is produced every day is dumped because we do not have the capacity to carry it to the south. EirGrid's plans for the north west and our region are completely inadequate. We are sitting on the second most opportunistic site off our coastline for offshore wind. If EirGrid and the Government do not get themselves together on this, we will miss out massively. We cannot afford and cannot accept EirGrid and the Government not to step up and give us the opportunities the other sites across the country are getting. That is a demand we need to have, and it needs to be delivered on.

Tourism Ireland was set up after the Good Friday Agreement. I think it is only right it be funded to ensure the wild Atlantic way, the causeway coast and the ancient east are all joined up and marketed as one. Moreover, there is a lot of expectation on the Minister's shoulders, but we have real needs and I am delighted he is at the table. It is fitting that he is, because he is an able Minister, and we look forward to working with him.

Mark Duffy (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister. He will be familiar with a lot of the issues I raise. As a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and my party's spokesperson on transport, a lot of the areas I will highlight relate particularly to transport. Last week, the Minister, like me and many others here, attended the Northern and Western Assembly briefing. One of the most stark findings of that morning's briefing was that the north-west region is one of the weakest regions with regard to transport. Comparable regions in Europe include the Canary Islands, Guadeloupe, which is a territory of France, and Madeira in Portugal. When we think about the areas included with the weakest transport infrastructure across the European regions, that the north-west region is alongside the Canary Islands, Guadeloupe and Madeira is evidence of how much we need to do to positively discriminate, on transport investment in particular, in our regions. I know the Minister will do everything in his power to use his voice at the Cabinet table to make sure we are advocating for it.

The western rail corridor is key to stimulating regeneration and improving connectivity across the western seaboard. In particular, the first leg, which is there, between Athenry and Claremorris, can unlock all of the towns in Mayo and Galway and connect Mayo all the way to Cork, industry to Foynes Port and northwards to Sligo and Donegal. The benefit of it has already been demonstrated, as Senator P.J. Murphy outlined, with the reopening of the line between Ennis and Galway and the positive intervention and success that has been. Knock airport is also an astounding success for Mayo and the western region and needs to be supported. We need to do as much as we can to support that and use it as a tool to help unlock some of the challenges that other regional airports, and indeed Dublin Airport, face in terms of capacity issues.

Turning to regional road infrastructure, the N26 and the bypass of Ballina is something we are both familiar with. A strong case can be made to put forward in the review of the national development plan investment and inclusion of both projects, given how far behind we are as a region with regard to transport infrastructure. We would, I hope, be pushing an open door. I know all of these things cost money, but it would be worthwhile. The N58 will improve regional connectivity and connectivity between north Mayo, Ballina, Castlebar and onwards to Westport. There is also the R312. These are all major transport projects that need to be realised and we need to do whatever we can to help further those.

On a separate point, unrelated to transport, I will raise something highlighted to me by Screen Producers Ireland with regard to balanced regional development. It has an ask for the Government concerning the production of TV and film. It is asking for an 8% uplift outside of Wicklow and Dublin under the section 481 tax credit. We have seen a lot of positive economic activity around this industry because incentives have been put in place. Screen Producers Ireland is asking for an uplift to further its work. If possible, and this would require full support of the Government, it was also recently suggested to me that section 481 should be extended to theatres to support local actors, designers and writers. I thought it was an interesting proposal. Is that something that could be accommodated to support local theatre, the production of theatre and artists through section 481? I thought it was interesting and is perhaps something that could be considered to help support the arts in the regions as well.

I wish the Minister continued success in his work and I will not be found wanting in supporting anything that can help address the imbalance we currently have in the region and to push on and improve the prosperity of the west and north west in particular.

Garret Kelleher (Fine Gael)
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Mar aon leis na Seanadóirí eile, gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as teacht isteach tráthnóna inniu chun forbairt chothrom sna réigiúin ar fad a phlé linn. Tá sé níos tábhachtaí i réigiúin an deiscirt, an iarthair agus an tuaiscirt. Tá an méid céanna ráite ag an-chuid Seanadóirí go dtí seo. Like so many other Senators, I will address disproportionate regional investment. The disproportionate regional investment in respect of the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly, the Southern Regional Assembly and the Northern and Western Regional Assembly has already been cited by Senators Kyne, Murphy and Tully. Even though it is not my region, I attended the briefing from the Northern and Western Regional Assembly last week and found it very informative. If we are to be serious about the commitments made under the national planning framework and Project Ireland 2040, we need to invest disproportionately, as Senator Blaney indicated when he spoke about positive discrimination. We need real affirmative action to take place to right the imbalances we seek to redress. We need to see disproportionate investment.

In respect of the numbers cited earlier for the Northern and Western Regional Assembly, which has 18% of the country's population, we are looking at two different investment categories. This population is getting well below 10% of the investment in capital infrastructure projects. The equivalent figure for the southern region, which has a population of over 33% of the country's population, was no more than 20% of investment in such projects. Effectively, there is a 40% deficit: both the Northern and Western Regional Assembly and the Southern Regional Assembly areas are not hitting the proportionate per capital allocation by 40%, so they are getting 60% of what they should get.

I know the Northern and Western Regional Assembly has a wish list for capital infrastructure projects that are in or around €9 billion while the Southern Regional Assembly made a submission to the national planning framework with projects to the tune of just north of €14 billion. These need to be looked at because we see aspirations in the likes of the national planning framework and Project Ireland 2040 but the next two months are crucial when it comes to the national development plan and the commitment by the Government to fund capital investment projects in the region.

Prior to my election to the Seanad, I was cathaoirleach of the Southern Regional Assembly. Between our three regional cities of Cork, Waterford and Limerick, the likes of BusConnects alone was funded to the tune of about €1.3 billion. The Dublin equivalent was €3.6 billion and this is before one even factors in the massive capital investment set aside for MetroLink, which is in the region of €9.5 billion with estimates in newspapers last week that this is likely to go significantly over budget. If we are serious about capital investment and balanced regional development, this is something we need to look at. We must meaningfully redress the imbalance rather than, as Senator Conway said earlier, looking after the snouts that are largest. We need to ensure all the regions have the opportunity. The commitment in Project Ireland 2040 and the national planning framework is that 50% of the growth we will see in terms of population and economic growth should be targeted in the Northern and Western Regional Assembly and the Southern Regional Assembly areas. We should be looking towards this.

The areas we should focus on for balanced regional development, particularly in the two regions that are being deprived at the moment, are climate action and public transport to ensure that families in rural areas have the option of having one car instead of two to the same extent as families in urban areas, water and housing. Also key are energy and investment in our ports, particularly with offshore renewables, along with roads and healthcare. The issue of healthcare and investment in our hospitals has been addressed by a number of Senators in the debate today.

Nessa Cosgrove (Labour)
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Given that the Minister of State is a west of Ireland man, he will have great emphasis on regional development. Atlantic Technological University has been one of the most outstanding successes in the north west in recent times in tying together the campuses of Sligo, Mayo and Donegal. This has created a truly world-class university in the heart of the north west. This achievement must be followed by infrastructure that will reverse the decline experienced by the north west in recent years. I know many other Senators referenced this, particularly those from the west and the north west.

The decline of the north west is not just a theoretical trope trotted out by the Opposition parties, as is very obvious here today. It is sadly a hard reality. In 2019, the EU downgraded the north-west region from being more developed to being a region in transition and in 2022, downgraded it to a lagging region. I know the Minister of State is aware of this. This means that the people in Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal have a lower GDP than most people in the EU. It means that productivity and average educational attainment are lower than in other parts of the country - even on the Continent - even though the region is so rich in natural resources, creativity and talent. Community-based entrepreneurs and the food and agriculture sectors are the lifeblood of our economy but if we are to make the most of these enterprises, they need to be supported by infrastructure and investment, which can only come from the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael-Independent Government and must be delivered through stronger, better-resourced and more democratically accountable local authorities, a topic we have discussed many times in this House. Developments like the western rail corridor, which links Sligo to Mayo and Galway and will, hopefully, be extended to Donegal, must become part of the national development plan. They could be transformative and deliver real social and economic change at a fraction of the cost of metro north. If the Government is genuine about committing to regional development, it is essential that upgrades to the N17, N59 and N15 are done if our region is supposed to grow.

Unbalanced regional development is not accidental. It is the logical conclusion of policies that for decades have treated our public as a group of city states with investment and development concentrated particularly around Dublin and its hinterland. That is very obvious today with the protest from the Raise the Roof campaign. Dublin is bursting at the seams. A visible and illustrative example of this is the ongoing humanitarian disaster of defective concrete blocks. While we all welcome the new redress scheme, we need to ensure that the details match the need for 100% redress for all affected homes. Unbalanced development is not even good for people who receive a disproportionate size of the pie. It drives economic overheating, inequality and societal breakdown and we all see this every day, particularly those of us who come up to Dublin from the country. Genuinely balanced regional development leads to a fairer, more equitable and more prosperous future for everyone. I hope we can work together with the Minister to ensure there is true regional development, particularly in the north and west.

Laura Harmon (Labour)
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I welcome the Minister. It is great to have him here. I want to focus on Cork. The national planning framework 2040 anticipates that Cork will become the fastest growing city region in Ireland, with a projected 50% to 60% increase in its population by 2040. This increased demand must be supported by travel infrastructure. In order to decarbonise and create a more connected city, the Government must deliver more active transport and a stronger bus network. The publication of the preferred Luas route for Cork was welcome. The Labour Party is calling for shovels in the ground by 2030 in respect of this project. We do not want to see long delays. It must be delivered in a timely manner for the people of Cork. Over the past year, public confidence in the bus service in Cork has been at an all-time low in terms of delays in the service.There is an unfortunate overreliance on the car which leads to congestion and parking issues within the city. This is compounded by the huge driving test waiting lists we have in Cork. Over 11,500 people were on the waiting list the last time I checked and this is something that needs to be addressed by this Government. We have people undertaking apprenticeships and working in healthcare and education who need to be able to utilise a car to get from A to B, so that is part of the problem, unfortunately. Expanding cycle paths and the public bike network will be critical to improving our active travel infrastructure. Cork Airport is a huge asset to the southern region and needs to be supported and developed sustainably, along with Shannon Airport.

I have come from the Raise the Roof rally outside Leinster House where thousands of people are calling for actions from this Government on housing. When we talk about infrastructure we have to mention housing as well. With particular respect to Cork, I was really struck by figures which I raised with the Minister for further and higher education showing that only 18% of the student accommodation in Cork is in public ownership compared with 44% in Dublin, 36% in Galway and 56% in Limerick. We need to focus on this and on the development of more housing in general. In March of this year the Minister for housing allocated funding of €35 million to build 234 units of social housing in Cork city and county. This is obviously very welcome but as part of the delivery of that we need to invest in infrastructure such as roads connectivity, water and pedestrian facilities as well. Of course we need to invest in the tenant in situ scheme countrywide, with Cork as part of that.

I will leave it there but I welcome the Minister.

Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senator. I call the Minister to make his closing statement.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas le gach Seanadóir as an díospóireacht seo agus as a dtuairimí.

I note there was a lot of emphasis on the Northern and Western Regional Assembly and I thank John Daly and everybody on the assembly for their work. It is a really useful piece of work and I thank them for it. I certainly engaged with it. There has also been a lot of reference to Cork issues, which my colleague in the Department, the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, is working on. Between us, he and I are very focused on every part of the Department's mandate, namely, rural affairs, community, cúrsaí Gaeltachta and development of them all.

There were some queries earlier about community groups. The actual record does not stand up to the charge in terms of the investments I have announced. Last Friday the Minister of State and I announced the local enhancement programme that was referenced by Senator Goldsboro. It is worth €7 million. We have announced the community recognition fund and the community centre investment fund, so we are investing in communities. We are investing in communities that are proactive and innovative and we certainly want to do more of that. We have a programme for Government commitment to reintroduce a very focused and precise RAPID scheme similar to the one that existed before the financial crash. That is something I am especially passionate about working with the Minister of State on.

Senator Ryan made the charge that rural communities are being managed into decline, which does not stand up to analysis at all. The CSO shows we had a 7% increase in the population of highly remote and rural areas between 2011 and 2022. The OECD is saying that between 2001 and 2021, the most rural regions in Ireland recorded the highest population growth among all OECD countries. That is independent analysis. However, we recognise that there are significant disparities within those trends. That is why I am currently revising and renewing all the CLÁR areas to ensure it becomes more targeted than maybe it has been in recent years. Once again I issue the invitation, or even challenge, to get on board with the renewal of Our Rural Future, to take part in the process that is under way, led by the Minister of State in Charleville last night and in Tullamore this evening - which is where I would be, except I wanted to be here - and the online discussions. I told the Cathaoirleach earlier I would like to see the Seanad get involved in it in a way that could be useful.

I assure Senator Conway that even though I am from Mayo, I had the privilege of visiting Waterford on many occasions in my last ministry and it is not quite the desert he has outlined. As Senator Kyne has already said, the North Quays project is extraordinary. That took massive commitment on the part of the Ministers of State, Deputies Butler and Cummins, to deliver. It is being delivered through the SDZ model in a really interesting combination of public and private partnership. That will transform Waterford city. There is investment in SETU, the cath lab and as we speak a new bridge is being put over the River Suir. It is very important we outline the challenges in all our communities and most have done that constructively. Let us not run down our communities. In focusing on the negatives, we must always remember every communication has an impact.

Senator Lynch made a really important point on the co-ordination of policies and I think we all agree on that. Many Senators have made proposals that cut across Government Departments. It is about how we co-ordinate all that work. The silos that get in the way of activity in so many areas are definitely getting in the way of balanced regional development. That is why I want to take a whole-of-government approach with Our Rural Future. That is one thing that is happening with the Minister, Deputy Chambers, in relation to the national development plan review that is under way. It will take a very comprehensive measure of projects in many of the areas that have been referred to in the House this evening.

Tá sé tábhachtach freisin go bhfuilimid dáiríre faoi chúrsaí Gaeltachta. Bhí an méid a dúirt an Seanadóirí Curley faoi chúram leanaí agus an Ghaeilge an-suimiúil. Beidh mé ag dul ar ais go dtí na hoifigigh faoi sin.

The western rail corridor has come up many times. We have to make that happen. Senator Murphy mentioned Ardrahan and the difference it has made there. That is a really good example of what this can do.

As to what Senator Tully said about tourism, there are so many areas that are in the same boat that are not found. It is about how we market them. We should learn from the example of the Wild Atlantic Way, which showed how a relatively simple idea can be pursued with co-ordinated investment. She also mentioned the challenges of the Border in the Cavan area. I have just come from a meeting about PEACEPLUS and how we make that more relevant, especially to communities on the ground. She mentioned some issues in Virginia.

I assure Senator Blaney that positive discrimination is very much something I sign up to. We have got to do that. If we get our offshore potential right, it is the game-changer we are all looking for. It is the cross-government game-changer and it will be delivered. It will be delivered with a planning system that is changed, that is more decisive and that is more predictable. Many Senators have referred to large infrastructure projects, many of which were delayed in planning. The system was bureaucratic and open to too many objections that were not coming from people who had a stake in the area. It is important we have a planning system that gives people a chance to object but which is predictable and has deadlines. Is é sin é an fáth a chuirim fáilte roimh an gcoimisiún pleanála atá le bunú amárach le cathaoirleach nua.

Senator Duffy referred to transport. I am very much on board with all those projects. His suggestions about supporting theatre appeal to an aspect of the regions we do not talk up enough: the richness of our culture. Tá sé thar a bheith tábhachtach, go háirithe i gcomhthéacs na hintleachta saorga, AI, go gcosnóimid an cultúr sin agus go gcosnóimid ár gcúrsaí litríochta. In the context of AI, which I really think gives enormous opportunities, we also have to defend our culture and defend our writers. That is something we do with section 481.

Atlantic Technological University, which Senator Cosgrove mentioned, has been a fantastic example of progress and success. Orla Flynn and the team have done an extraordinary job in, as the Senator said, developing not only one campus but multiple ones. They have aligned the university with the regional enterprise priorities and we will continue to support them. On the revitalisation of town centres, when I visited Kildare with Senator O'Loughlin last year I was intrigued by one project in particular. Kildare LEO, under its super CEO Jacqui McNabb, rented space in a vacant unit for crafters, put the resources in place to develop it and put the expertise in place in terms of the layout of the shop and how the window looked. It gave talented craftspeople a space to sell their wares with a high-end presentation. It did all the business courses with them. Dereliction and rural industry were addressed. Later that day we went to look at a rural enterprise based in a traditional rural shop. A rural butcher had expanded into a supermarket, as many have, and used innovation and hard work to move into a prepared food line. Coming from a small rural shop, he provided opportunities for employment and really good food. It showed me what can be done in rural areas with the right support, thinking and commitment. It assured me that, in terms of rural Ireland, there is a way.

There are many questions on areas outside my remit but I will bring them back. I will come back to a point Senator Goldsboro made at the beginning. On 23 and 24 January and in the weeks after that, we saw the best of rural Ireland. Rural Ireland came together with an amazing sense of meitheal and common purpose to get neighbours, families and friends through Storm Éowyn and the damage it caused. We all have to learn the lessons of that and work is under way. We also need to remember that, within that challenge, rural Ireland came together. It used many facilities already there, including physical facilities such as community centres invested in by my Department and other Departments. CE, RSS and Tús workers came together to support communities at a horrific time and got communities through that time. That is the essence of rural and urban Ireland. If we have strong communities that are ambitious for themselves, we will be able to balance regional development. Communities with an idea and vision for themselves are exactly the kind of communities we want to partner with. We want to partner with local authorities on delivering projects that come from the local authority and, in turn, from the community, rather than us imposing grand, big projects on them. The challenge is to get those projects through the local authorities and into my Department in a way we can deliver them back. That takes a huge amount of work.

I thank every person who works in the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht. Cuirim fáilte roimh na comhghleacaithe nua atá linn ó thaobh na Gaeilge le cúpla seachtain anois. I am determined that, when we come to the end of this term of government and my time in the Department, we will have made a difference and will have reflected the ambitious obvious in this Chamber and, more importantly, the ambition obvious across regional and rural Ireland. Go raibh míle maith agaibh.

Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister. I really appreciate his remarks. While he was speaking, I could not but reflect that four fifths of this Seanad is made up of rural Senators. Just one fifth is from in or around the Pale. The Minister has put out the offer of working with the Seanad and the Seanad with open hands wants to work with him. That was clearly demonstrated. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire.

When is it proposed to sit again?

Eileen Lynch (Fine Gael)
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At 10.30 a.m. tomorrow.

Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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Is that agreed? Agreed.