I thank you, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to raise the very serious social and economic problems facing the town and rural areas of Castleblayney. I also thank the Minister of State, Deputy Coughlan, for attending the House to reply to this matter.
The community and family resource centre proposed for Castleblayney is a well thought out, community based and integrated response which the community is putting forward to improve the situation. If ever a town needed a lift in terms of economic and social funding it is Castleblayney, a town with a rich tradition in drama and music but with no performing centre.
The proposal is for an integrated arts and community resource centre for the benefit of all the people of the town and surrounding area. The centre will include a theatre with two seating options, either of 246 or 86 seats and all the back-up rooms, workshops, crèche, parents and toddler area, Irish language and pre-school facilities, an active learning centre, an affordable fitness centre, computer training centre, administration offices for voluntary groups and meeting rooms. It is also proposed to have a centre foyer with coffee bar and many other facilities. All the main areas of the centre are already booked by groups who are giving invaluable services in rented and inadequate premises around the town.
Castleblayney has suffered since the formation of the State. Partition of the island in 1920 cut off the economic hinterland of the town and this, together with emigration and factory closures over the years has destroyed the economic base. The last straw for the town was the closure of the military barracks by the Government under the Minister for Defence, Deputy Michael Smith. The Minister came to Castleblayney in July 1998 to announce the closure of the barracks. He promised funding of £1 million for the town. He told the people and their political representatives that the funding was for a project or projects pro posed by the people. This project, under the chairmanship of Sr. Celine McArdle, brings together Castleblayney Heritage Group, the drama festival committee, Castleblayney Players, Macra na Feirme and Blaney Blades, covering every aspect of life and training. It also covers Castleblayney Trust for the homeless, needy and unemployed.
The site has been purchased and planning permission granted. The group has funding of over £0.25 million towards the project and the promised funding of £1 million is vital to gain other funds. The Minister for Defence has already stated on local Northern Sound radio that he supports the idea proposed by the Castleblayney group but he and the Government have reneged on this. There has been no funding of £1 million for the people of Castleblayney as promised. The North-Eastern Health Board is to build a centre on the Army site to look after difficult young people but this is being built under an order of the High Court. As there are no facilities in the North-Eastern Health Board region the matter is being dealt with in the courts. These children are technically known as children at risk.
The town of Castleblaney has a proud tradition in music and drama including the Castleblaney Players and Castleblaney drama festival, together with personalities such as Paddy Cole, Big Tom, Anna McGoldrick, the late Maurice Lynch and Eamon Toal, who represented Ireland in last year's Eurovision. The important point is that the theatre project is backed by all these people together with and under the supervision of the two McArdles. Tommy and John McArdle, in common with the others I mentioned, have represented not only Castleblaney in Ireland but in a much wider field. John McArdle is spearheading the theatre section of the community project. Given the involvement of the McArdles in RTE and other national projects, his commitment speaks volumes.
Castleblaney has the highest rate of unemployment in County Monaghan. In May 2000, the town had a total of 465 males and 335 females on the live register, over 45% of whom were long-term unemployed. The level of disadvantage in the county and town has been measured by the County Monaghan partnership board whose central office is located in Castleblaney. Its figures show that on a scale of one to ten, the Castleblaney urban area is at nine while the Castleblaney rural area has disimproved from five to six with the DEDs of Mullyash at ten, Churchill at nine and Annyalla and Cremartin at eight. Many of the town's schools are classified as disadvantaged by the Department of Education and Science. The North-Eastern Health Board's statistics show significant levels of child sex abuse in the town and there is a high rate of marriage breakdown.
The project has been properly researched. It involves the merger of two separate community based proposals, one for an arts/theatre facility and the other for a family community centre. The troubles have impacted socially and economically and the project will receive funding from the Peace and Reconciliation programme, the IFI and the Departments of Social, Community and Family Affairs and Tourism, Sport and Recreation. The key is the £1.3 million from the ACCESS fund under the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands or the Department of Defence or both.
The theatre will bring together people from the whole area, North and South of the Border. I cannot over-emphasise the amount of effort that has been put into this project by the people of Castleblaney. It has united the town like never before because everyone sees the need for it for all the reasons I mentioned.
