I welcome the opportunity to make a brief statement on this important report and the consequences it will have in the Border region. I want to make a strong plea to the Minister to ensure that Structural Funds as currently applied will remain in place after 1999. There is a danger of such funds not remaining in place because of the great strides that have been made in the country as a whole, more especially in the east, south-east and greater Dublin area.
The residential property tax was referred to earlier but we do not have that problem in the Border region. That fact shows the disparity between the greater Dublin area and the rest of the country. It also reflects the growth that has taken place in Dublin and the south-east.
I compliment the Minister on the marvellous announcements he has made in recent weeks concerning job creation. These are positive jobs for the future of our young people and, while many of the jobs are to be located in Dublin, I have no objection to that. I understand the reasons companies locate in the Dublin area, including proximity to Dublin Airport and sea ports, because computer companies, in particular, must compete on world markets. While that area is quite a technical one, our young people are adept at working in such high technology industries. Thousands of skilled young people from all over the country, including Cavan, Monaghan, Sligo and Leitrim, are taking up places in these industries. In effect, this process moves young people from other areas to the east and south-east. The success these industries brings ensures that other industries will also establish enterprises here.
Looking to the future, however, the Border region must get a fair crack of the whip. Because of the substantial rise in incomes we will probably move out of objective 1 as we will have passed the income benchmark laid down by the European authorities relating to qualification. That will mean reduced funding from Structural Funds at a time when the whole country has not made the same advances as the east or south-east. There is a strong and genuine case to be made for regionalising the country between the Border region and the west. Deputies from the west will make their own case well, as Deputy Connor did earlier, but I am making a case for the Border region. If the whole country is to be designated as moving out of objective 1, the Minister should ensure the country is regionalised so that the Border region will remain in objective 1 for a further five to ten years. It can then rise to the same level of development that has taken place in the east and south-east.
The case can be based on the fact that for the last 25 years the six Border counties, Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan, Monaghan and Louth, have suffered as a result of violence in the North. This often goes unnoticed because full attention is not drawn to the fact that economic development in that region has not matched development elsewhere. That is because industrialists were reluctant to locate in the Border region due to the spillover of violence. The tourism industry suffered badly because people were afraid to visit the Border region. The constituency I represent, Cavan-Monaghan, has much to offer in respect of tourism projects. However, tourism projects require the provision of Structural Funding during the next five to ten years to ensure maximum development. That is not an unrealistic or unfair case to make.
It has been noted that roads in my area are the worst in the country. However, we are taking action in that regard and facing up to the task that confronts us. In that context, I welcome the provision of Government assistance through the medium of Structural Funds but there is a long way to go. Cavan-Monaghan does not have access to the type of motorway recently opened in Dublin by the Minister for the Environment, Deputy Howlin. That motorway is a welcome development which helps the northern part of the country in so far as traffic travelling to Dublin city or Dublin Airport will reach its destination more rapidly.
Aghalane Bridge, situated on a national primary road in my constituency, is the only major Border crossing to remain unopened in the six counties bordering Northern Ireland. Many people in authority are not aware of this fact. We are working towards building a proper roadway to the bridge which was blown up by the British Army as a precaution against what it identified as a danger or threat to County Fermanagh and the towns of Enniskillen and Lisnaskea. This action has greatly affected the towns of Belturbet, Ballyconnell and Cavan in County Cavan.
I am satisfied the Northern Ireland authorities are engaged in rebuilding the bridge and, with its reconstruction, a proper road structure will be in place within the next two to three years. However, in the interim, we remain cut off as the end of the present Structural Funds agreement in 1999 approaches. A case for a further extension of funds can be made on that basis. This will only be achieved if those in power decide in fairness to the Border and western regions, to regionalise the country. Those regions, because of their problems and the low incomes which prevailed, helped to maintain the country's objective 1 status when the last review took place in 1993. It would be wrong and unjust were we to be removed from the maximum payment section of objective 1 status. The eastern and south eastern regions have moved far ahead and in the absence of regionalisation this will ensure the entire country loses objective 1 status, despite the fact that the Border region has not benefited from the developments that occurred. As already stated, I welcome developments which are beneficial to the country as a whole, and the Government is to be complimented on its excellent management of the economy.
Agriculture is the bedrock of the economy in the Border region but milk quotas there are the lowest per farm. Co-operatives and those involved in agriculture, North and South, make the case that, because of the troubles, farmers were prevented from developing their farms to the same extent as their counterparts elsewhere. Milk quotas in the Border region are less than the national average. They range between 10,000 to 15,000 gallons, which is not viable. An application is to be sent to Brussels to increase milk quotas in the Border region and the six counties of Northern Ireland to the realistic level of 30,000 gallons per farm. This will create a sustainable income for family farms. It will mean that an additional 30 million gallons will be divided between farmers in the six counties north of the Border and their six Southern counterparts. This application will take the form of a peace initiative in the region and will not cost European taxpayers anything.
Farmers in Northern Ireland, some of whom were close neighbours of mine, suffered greatly and tragically lost their lives caring for cattle at night. A number of them walked on booby traps and were blown to pieces. This created concern among other farmers and did not help the development of the region because people lived in fear of their lives for 20 to 25 years. Thankfully, things have improved during the past two years but we cannot just forget the troubles and state that that period of history is over. We owe it to those who died to do something and we have an opportunity to do so. A case has been made by farmers and farm co-operatives in Border areas for the division of 30 million gallons between farmers living in the six counties on either side of the Border. This proposal is currently before the Taoiseach, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry and others for consideration.
I am aware that the issue of milk quotas does not come under the remit of the Department of Enterprise and Employment but it would be in good hands were the Minister there to take responsibility for it. I am interested to hear his comments on regionalisation of the country to ensure that the Border region will continue to receive Structural Funds for the next five to ten years. This would enable it to reach the stage of development which has been achieved by other regions.