andMr. O'Hara asked the Taoiseach if he will state in respect of the province of Connacht (a) the population in 1956, (b) the population at the latest available date, (c) the decrease in population during those years, (d) the percentage decrease, (e) the number of jobs created in industry since 1956 and (f) the action the Government propose taking to provide work for people in that area.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Population of Connacht.
3.
The population of Connacht according to the 1956 census of population was 446,221 and the corresponding population in 1971 was 389,763, representing a decrease of 56,458 or 12.7 per cent. As I indicated in reply to questions on the 27th October, 1971, the decrease in population in the five years to 1971 was the smallest percentage decline in any inter-censal period since the beginning of the present century.
The number of jobs created in industry in the province since 1956 is approximately 7,000.
Continued operation of the special measures for western development contained in the Third Programme for Economic and Social Development is being ensured by the Government so far as the province of Connacht is concerned. In pursuance of that policy, county development teams were established in the 13 western counties—including the five Connacht counties. To assist the teams in this work, the Government established the Special Development Fund in 1967. Commitments from the fund to date exceed £2 million of which £897,000 relates to the five Connacht counties. Help has been provided for small farmers and handcraft co-operatives, local airports, miscellaneous tourist projects, et cetera. In addition, assistance has been given to firms which were in danger of closing down but which had a reasonable prospect of survival if given immediate aid. The fund is used in circumstances of distress or opportunity and is proving to be an effective instrument in promoting and maintaining the economic well-being of Connacht.
In the industrial grants scheme of the Industrial Development Authority, there is a substantial differential—60 per cent as against 45 per cent of fixed assets elsewhere—in the industrial grants scheme in favour of the designated areas, which include the province of Connacht. The authority's programme of promoting regional industrial development involved the setting up, last year, of regional offices in Galway and Sligo to promote industrial development in the Galway/ Mayo and Sligo/Leitrim regions, respectively, and in Athlone to cater for the Midlands region which includes Roscommon. The authority, as part of their interim advance factory programme, propose to construct 11 advance factories in Connacht. In this connection, the authority have set a target of 7,550 extra jobs for the province.
A number of resorts and resort areas selected by Bord Fáilte for development under the major resort development scheme are either in or adjoin Connacht counties. So far, out of a total expenditure of £3.2 million by Bord Fáilte on major resort development over £1 million has been spent in Connacht. In addition cash grants amounting to £1.6 million have been promoted by Bord Fáilte for the development of hotels, guesthouses et cetera in the province. Among the projects assisted by these grants, were 42 new hotels with 1,300 bedrooms and extensions to existing hotels involving a total of 2,000 bedrooms. Over 3,300 persons are employed in hotels in Connacht in the peak season and half of this employment is attributable to the foregoing grants.
Since 1956, the expansion of the ESB generation, transmission and distributive schemes have resulted in about 300 additional jobs, with anticipated increases in future—including about 150 additional jobs resulting from the development of milled peat for electricity generation in Galway.
Will the Taoiseach not agree that the figures he has given to the House reveal an alarming situation in the whole province of Connacht? Is it not true that on numerous occasions I have brought these facts to the notice of the Taoiseach? Even at this 11th hour, will the Taoiseach not wake up and realise that it is absolutely necessary to tackle this problem, to regard it as a state of emergency, so that the decline in population will not continue?
I have no illusions about the seriousness of the problem but as I indicated to the Deputy on previous occasions, the best solution is a planned one and not a panic or crash programme. The planned solution is now beginning to show results because, as I have indicated in my reply, the percentage decline in the population of Connacht is now much less than what it was, for example, during the term of the last Coalition Government. In fact, it is now only one quarter of the decline experienced then. I acknowledge the Deputy's interest in this problem. He has raised it here on many occasions but he will appreciate that every time he raises it, there is progress to be reported.
Question No. 4 postponed.