I wish to indicate at the outset, with your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, that it is my intention to divide the time available to me between myself and my colleague, Deputy Mervyn Taylor. I trust this will not cause any difficulty.
Private Members' Business. - Development of Tallaght, County Dublin: Motion.
Is that agreed? Agreed?
I move:
That Dáil Éireann notes with concern the report entitled "The Development of community and Social Services in Tallaght", published by the Tallaght Welfare Society in May 1988 and circulated to each party in the Dáil. Dáil Éireann notes also that if all existing development plans are completed, Tallaght will soon have a population roughly the same as that of Cork City; and that the headlong, unplanned growth of the greater Dublin South West area has taken place without the provision of the basic amenities — or even social services — taken for granted in established urban areas of a similar size. Having regard to the particular needs of Tallaght, and bearing in mind that the problems of Tallaght represent a microcosm of disadvantage throughout the country, Dáil Éireann calls on the Government to establish a special programme to address and resolve these problems. In particular, Dáil Éireann calls on the Government to:
—establish a single authority, to include representation by the people of Tallaght, to oversee and control the continued development of the area, with the ultimate aim of establishing a seperate local authority for Tallaght;
—designate Tallaght as a high-priority area for industrial investment purposes;
—give absolute priority to the completion of the Hospital in Tallaght and the development of other necessary health facilities, including services for the elderly and physically handicapped;
—proceed with the building of the Regional Technical College in Tallaght;
—examine ways and means of building, as soon as practicable, a rapid rail link from Tallaght to the city centre;
—allocate the necessary resources for the establishment of essential social and recreational projects; and
—ensure that adequate family support and community development services are available in Tallaght.
In moving this motion before the House this evening people may wonder why we, the Labour Party, are using our Private Members' time to move a specific motion directed at a particular area. I think the reasons speak for themselves. There are many areas throughout the country to which we could direct our attention, but I believe, as the motion states, that Tallaght is a microcosm of the problems facing new urban developments in Ireland.
Recent reports, particularly the report commissioned by the Combat Poverty Agency from the ESRI, have highlighted the enormous scale of poverty in our society. This debate is timely and is particularly welcome tonight because it allows us to focus on one huge element of that problem. Although the motion before the House deals specifically with the problems of poverty and underdevelopment as they manifest themselves in Tallaght, I believe it will become clear to the Members of this House that there are many lessons to be learned from the experience in Tallaght.
In my remarks, I intend to confine myself to some of the more general aspects of the problem. Other Labour Party speakers will deal with aspects of the problem that are more specific to Tallaght and to Dublin south west. I certainly will be making the case that Tallaght is a problem area but it is a problem that we, the legislators, the planners and indeed governments have created down through the years. The people of Tallaght have not created the problem and do not have to accept responsibility for it.
The population of Tallaght is now the third largest in one centre in the country after the city of Dublin and of Cork. There are many people there working on a daily basis at the unenviable task of building a community in Tallaght. It is now well recognised that they are beset with problems but also that they are equipped with determination and spirit to overcome them. It is in recognition of that determination and that spirit that we have the opportunity here tonight of bringing their difficulties and plight before this House. They not only deserve to have their difficulties debated in this House, and indeed considered, but to have a response from the Government. I would like to think that by 8.30 p.m. tomorrow evening when it comes to voting on this motion the people of Tallaght who are trying despite enormous odds to improve their position, to bring about a community spirit and to work towards building support and structures within their community will not only have the understanding and ear of Members of this House but will have universal support from all the parties in this House who will be prepared to provide solutions and some hope for the people of Tallaght in facing up to and overcoming their problems.
As I said at the outset, it may well be that there are Members of the House who wonder if there are not other areas equally deserving of the House's attention. Indeed, I think it would be reasonable to say there are other areas in the country equally deserving because as we all now know — if we did not know before the recent ESRI report — the absolute level of poverty and disadvantage that has risen over the past two years. There are other areas where we could focus our attention, but I believe that Tallaght is deserving of special mention.
Perhaps it is that Tallaght has been allowed to develop in a very unstructured, unco-ordinated and unplanned manner. For many years past, Governments have been aware of the difficulties facing the community in Tallaght. The housebuilding programme continued without an adequate infrastructure. Perhaps the word "infrastructure" has been misused in recent years without getting down to spelling out what it means. If we were looking for an area which showed the greatest inadequacies in infrastructure, we could perhaps pick on Tallaght.
Tallaght is perhaps disadvantaged by reason of its proximity to the city of Dublin. There seems to be an impression abroad that because of its proximity to Dublin, Tallaght has access to the infrastructure and facilities of the city and, therefore, does not need these in its own right. Unfortunately, the totally opposite is the case. Because of its proximity to Dublin, Tallaght has not been allowed to develop, as it now has to develop, as a town, as a community and perhaps as a city in its own right.
The absolute level of poverty and disadvantage has risen over the past two years and much of it has been caused by the confidence trick perpetated by the Government and often encapsulated in the headline used by Government Ministers on a day-to-day basis, that confidence is returning to the economy. That headline always catches my eye because, just as we can focus on any other area in relation to this debate, I say I represent one of the most economically depressed regions in the country. From local experience and local knowledge I would question the use of that expression that confidence is returning to the economy, and I have difficulty in understanding the basis on which this declaration is made. Looking around in the city of Dublin at present we see shops boarded up, houses becoming derelict and parks overgrown and deserted. I know from personal experience and from correspondence I have received that thousands of families in the city of Dublin and the country are living on the poverty line, and this has been confirmed in recent weeks consequent on surveys that have been done. Thousands of families have lost one or more of their young people on the emigration trail. These features added together do not give me to understand that confidence is returning to the economy, that confidence is out there waiting for investment. Certainly I do not see it as confidence and I cannot agree with the statements by Government Ministers made on a daily basis.
Perhaps I am looking in the wrong places and perhaps my experience is not consistent with this headline. Perhaps I am reading the wrong newspapers. Some of the other newspaper headlines might create a very different impression, that all is well. Some of the headlines like "Cement-Roadstone Raises Pre-Tax Profits to £45 million","Hibernian Shows 41.5 per cent Increase in 1986 Profits", "Jacobs Increase Pre-Tax Profits and Dividends" and perhaps headlines relating to the profitability of the banking sector could lead one to conclude that all is well, all is rosy in the garden. Yes, profits seem to be rolling into these sectors or, to be more precise, they are rolling out of these sectors. I believe the money is going out of Ireland and into more profitable investments abroad.
When will the benefits of these headlines filter down to the people we here in this House represent? When is the growth in profits going to be reflected in job creation? When is all this wealth going to benefit those dependent on social welfare? The truth is that left to themselves the politicians in this House who are now total prisoners of the right will see to it that none of the filtering down ever happens. The figures shows wealth in certain areas and increasing poverty in others. They show that, although there is a great boom in exports, the numbers on the unemployment lists begin to grow. In short, the figures show an increasingly divided society. The Labour Party have tried to bring this point home again and again. Every day we highlight the cuts that Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Progressive Democrats are collaborating in, but each time there are strong attempts to paint out the real picture, to emphasise the confidence instead of the pain, the profits instead of the cutbacks. That is why I say "confidence trick" is a more appropriate expression than "confidence". We are being allowed to see only the rosy side of the picture. The division, the alienation and despair throughout the country are being hidden from us or there is an attempt to hide them.
Much of the inspiration for this motion came from the Tallaght Welfare Society who have drawn up a comprehensive blueprint for the development of support facilities and basic social and infrastructural needs for their area. They together with Tallaght Community Council, Tallaght working co-operatives and others have already demonstrated in detail a comprehensive understanding of the needs of their area. They have shown a commitment to the concept of a balanced and integrated approach to development involving voluntary and community interests together with the statutory agencies and the private sector. They have shown a capacity to lead and manage which ought to be built on.
The first and best way to build on that commitment is to adopt the first specific item in the proposals before this House. We have proposed the creation of a single authority to oversee the development of Tallaght. We believe they should be a democratically elected authority with a status at least equal to that of a county council to challenge the ideas and commitment of the people of Tallaght into the resolution of their own problems. The first steps in that direction were taken by the last Government in their proposals for local government reform and they should be developed now in the interests of the people of that area.
We have heard on numerous occasions that a major review of local government is on the way. If that is true the Minister for the Environment should take this opportunity to establish a local authority for Tallaght and the surrounding area. Many towns with smaller populations than Tallaght have local authority status. The granting of such a status to Tallaght would enable the people who live there to make a major contribution to the future development of their own lives. Increasingly local authorities are coming to be seen as the best focus for development activity and there is little doubt that at some stage in the future their role could undergo a radical change in this direction. This means it is possible to foresee when local authorities will be charged with industrial and tourist development responsibilities among others. The increasing trend towards decentralisation will probably mean that local authorities, perhaps for the first time, will come into their own as the bodies who will really translate the energies and determination of local people into action for their own communities. For such an approach to work it would mean, of course, the new local authorities would have to have more power and more resources than they have at present, but if this sort of development comes to pass it would be a tragedy if a major centre of population like Tallaght were to lose out. There will never be enough resources for development, particularly as long as right wing policies predominate. In those circumstances those with most control of their own destinies can contribute most to development.
No area has a greater claim to decentralised power than the area of Tallaght. It has suffered too long from centralised planning, or rather from the ad hoc development which passes for planning. It is time the people of Tallaght and people in other parts of the country who suffer the same kind of disadvantage were brought in from the cold and given a real opportunity to have a say in the development of their own future.
Deputy Taylor is sharing time allotted to Deputy Spring.
I can think of no better way to begin my contribution to this debate than to quote the preface of the report of the Tallaght Welfare Society, The Development of Community and Soial Services in Tallaght, which provided a good deal of the motivation for this motion before the Dáil tonight. The preface says:
To the majority of Dubliners, Tallaght always signified the beginning of a day out in the Dublin mountains. It was like basecamp — the village... and the beautiful scenery, with the Dublin mountains in the background, combined to make it a location of envy.
In 1966—
... plans were unveiled for future development. These plans promised, in the long term, a town described then as "The Garden City of Europe". Ten years ago, signs were erected on the approaches from the Greenhills and Templeogue roads with the words "Welcome to Tallaght New Town". Today, nearly twenty-five years on, the only qualification Tallaght has to being a town is its population of 70,000. Planning lost its way in Tallaght a long time ago.
Very few of the promises were fulfilled, and we now have a situation that is crying out for massive investment, services and facilities. Voluntary organisations have paved the way and made brave efforts to fill the vacuum, but this has not been matched by the State. Delays in the construction of the town centre and the regional college have justified opinions that Tallaght is not getting a fair deal. The only show piece in the town centre to show our visitors is the Garda station...
The story of Tallaght is one of neglect. Despite representations throughout the years nothing has changed. The nature and structure of development create built-in limitations to personal and family fulfilment.
The 1986 census shows that it is possible to say that the population of the town of Tallaght at the time of that census was 73,783 people. That represented an increase in the population of 30 per cent in five years which makes Tallaght, in addition to being the third largest population centre in Ireland, also the fastest growing population centre in the country.
Members of the House might like to consider how the people of Limerick would react if they were told in the morning that all of their hospitals were being closed, that the railway station was being shut down and that the NIHE and other third level institutions were being removed. I do not think it takes too much imagination to describe the outcry that would result. Yet in a town larger than Limerick none of these facilities is available and, despite promises, none of them is likely to be available in the near future.
I would like to deal with some of the issues that arise in relation to Tallaght in the order in which they are specified in the motion before us. Deputy Spring has already spoken about the need to establish a single united authority to include representation by the people of Tallaght and to oversee and control the continued development of the area with the ultimate aim of establishing a separate local authority for Tallaght. There is an unanswerable case for that. To take the Limerick analogy I would ask Deputies to consider the reaction if the people of Limerick were to be told that in future all local services and all industrial development and planning would be handled from Cork and that they would not be entitled to a voice in the determination of their own future.
There are even more pressing arguments than that. Tallaght has become a marginalised part of our community. That has not happened because of weakness or laziness or stupidity on the part of the people of Tallaght. It has happened because the establishment has decided that Tallaght can safely be ignored. As a consequence promises made to Tallaght and its people have systematically been broken. The illusion has been created that Tallaght is getting its fair share of scarce resources and the people of Tallaght have no structure available to them that would enable them to highlight how great an illusion this is and how great the needs of that community are.
Perhaps the greatest need in Tallaght is jobs. It already has, in some areas, one of the highest unemployment rates in the country and that rate is growing. Even those that are at work, in the vast majority of cases, have to travel out of Tallaght to their work. The IDA owns large tracts of land in Tallaght which they have owned for years, intended for the development of industries that would provide the employment so badly needed; but no steps have been taken by the IDA to develop those lands for the purpose for which they were acquired.
Youth unemployment is a particularly serious problem and is leading to serious disenchantment among large sections of the youth population because no employment is provided for them and there is no indication that employment will be provided for them. When local people try to provide local enterprise, as did the Kiltilawn local enterprise project, and tried to remedy that off its own bat by organising an excellent scheme, and sought very small contributions from this Government to get that employment project under way, they were turned aside and sidetracked by the Government. There has been little or no emphasis in the past on attracting jobs into Tallaght and that has to change. Tallaght must be designated as a high priority area for industrial investment and it must attract the same scale of incentive as other designated regions.
The absence of a hospital to serve a community of almost 75,000 people is a continuing scandal. It is abundantly clear from the Public Capital Programme published recently that very little progress will be made towards the completion of the hospital this year. I find it inexplicable that this Government and particularly how the Minister for Health can defend this position. We have all heard recently how the Minister for Health was able to sanction a loan from a foreign bank for a hospital in his own constituency. How can he ignore the overwhelming case in Tallaght?
One person in every three of the population in Tallaght is under the age of nine. Half of them are under the age of 19, and only 13 per cent of the population of Tallaght is over the age of 40. Most families coming to live in Tallaght are setting up home in an unfamiliar location. Most of them have come to Tallaght because that is where the houses are rather than because of family ties, proximity to work or availability of services. For this reason the initial experience of setting up home in Tallaght can be difficult. Local resources and amenities are extremely limited. While there are schools and some local shops, good shopping is scarce and few if any of the housing estates have a library, coffee shop, restaurant or other facilities; and the absence of these facilities add to the stress, particularly for younger mothers. Outlets which many people take for granted are often out of the question and this gives rise to a potentially serious situation. Tallaght has more than its share of health problems, of stress within families and of family breakdown as the consequence of social problems like this. A great deal of work is being done by voluntary organisations to deal with this problem, but resources are urgently needed.
I want to pay a particular tribute to those many organisations in Tallaght and the people who work in them to provide a service for the people of Tallaght. Deputy Spring has already mentioned the Tallaght welfare society. There are many residents associations and tenants associations; there are organisations who organise the youth; there is the Tallaght choral society, the many senior citizens clubs, drama groups, art groups, groups organising outdoor activities such as orienteering, boxing clubs and so on. Every field of activity is catered for and the people of Tallaght themselves make a magnificant contribution to the area; but the development of family back-up services is urgently needed. We are asking that the Eastern health Board develop a more adequate social work service, that additional day care facilities for children in the newer estates be established, that grant schemes be expanded to make proper resources available for the development of community pre-schools and local activities for children in young families, that Tallaght be established as a separate health area with its own administrative headquarters and that adequate funds be given to the Eastern Health Board to develop further its community care programme in Tallaght. I want to hear a response from the Minister and other Ministers concerned on these issues.
To date what has the record been? Far from providing these additional grants, existing grants through Dublin County Council which had already been approved have been reneged on. Many sporting organisations, residents and tenants associations and others who had had grants actually approved for them had to have these grants indefinitely deferred because of the cutbacks imposed on the county council by this Government.
A regional technical college has long been promised. The breaking of that promise is one of the most dishonourable acts of this Government. The community in Tallaght is absolutely determined that it will have its own third level institution and it is essential to the future development of Tallaght in community terms and in economic terms that that regional technical college be provided. A regional technical college would attract expertise to Tallaght from all around the country. It would contribute to the economic development in the area because it has been the experience all over the country that investment is attracted to areas where training and education is available locally. Land has been reserved for the regional technical college; the plans are there. There is no area of the country where it would be more logical to provide that base, and it is the one single thing that would bring a tremendous boost and enable a third level education to be given to the people of Tallaght. I am asking here in the House tonight that the Minister representing the Government should look again at the decision to sidetrack the regional technical college for Tallaght and to ensure that that matter is given top priority because the boost that that one issue alone could provide for the area would be absolutely enormous.
There is an urgent need as well for improved education facilities at first and second level in Tallaght. This is another area where this Government have made and broken promises, particularly in relation to the post-primary school for Jobstown and the post-primary school for Kingswood-Kilnamanagh. These are areas where sites have been acquired, where schools were always intended to be built and the sites now lie idle with grass growing on them. Some local representatives have taken pride in informing the residents of these areas that they have succeeded in getting the grass cut on the sites where those schools are so badly needed and that were promised to the people of Jobstown and Kingwood-Kilnamanagh. Kingwood-Kinamanagh must be one of the most densely populated areas in the country and is bound on all sides by major dual carriageways. It was always intended to provide a school in that area and I should like to appeal to the Minister for Education to look again at the need for a post-primary school there and in Jobstown also.
One of the major needs of the Tallaght area is for cheaper, safer and more reliable access to the city centre. Clearly, the ideal solution would be an extension of the DART system to Tallaght. Such an extension can be justified on economic and social grounds but I understand that the Government have decided that in any integrated plan for the Dublin area, an extension of the DART line will not be entertained. If that is true, it amounts to a scandalous decision. I hope the Government representative who contributes to the debate will give us an assurance that an extension of the DART system to Tallaght has not been ruled out.
I am pleased that the proposal for a town centre for Tallaght is making headway. However, I hope it will amount to a full town centre and not a grandiose shopping centre. A town centre is meant to be more than that. We require not just shops but facilities such as a library, a leisure and recreation centre and local authority offices. It is important that local authority offices are located in such a centre so that people can have access to the various Departments of Government. The Government should give serious thought to the provisions of funds for the erection of such a centre. It is important that such a centre be a vibrant place in the daytime and at night. The people of Tallaght do not want to see the centre confined to shops that will be closed at night, as though it was a grandiose Dunne's Stores shopping complex.
Private Members' Time is a scarce commodity so far as the Labour Party are concerned but they considered it important that the needs of Tallaght be highlighted in the House. The motion was not introduced with the intention of political party bashing on the issue. The people of Tallaght do not want their problems made into a political football. Our intention in moving the motion was to make progress on the issues I have highlighted. We will co-operate with the Government, and other parties, to ensure that moneys are voted by the House to improve Tallaght. At budget time and when the House debates Estimates I do not want to hear the representatives of any party saying that while they support the need for a hospital, a regional technical college or schools in the Tallaght area, they are not prepared to vote against any cuts in expenditure. Those representatives must insist on money being earmarked in the budget to ensure that the facilities needed by the people of Tallaght are provided. There should not be any easy talk from Members to the effect that they support certain projects for Tallaght. They should announce what they intend doing at budget time or when an Estimate does not provide for a regional technical college, post-primary schools or a hospital. That is the acid test and Members contributing to this debate should address that issue.
Too often we have had Members announcing support for projects at public meetings in the area and issuing documents to the effect that they support other projects. However, those Members, particularly those who belong to Fine Gael and the Progressive Democrats, have voted with the Government in favour of cutbacks in Health, Education and Social Welfare. Those policies have denied the people of Tallaght a livelihood and the facilities that are needed if they and their children are to have any hope for the future.
The people of Tallaght are entitled to the same treatment that others receive. They have suffered establishment neglect for too long. It is time that the House as a unit recognised that, combined to support the people of Tallaght and give them the same basic facilities that have been provided in other areas. I hope that will be done. It is essential that a local authority for the area be established. Funds from the national lottery have been dispensed hand over fist to many sporting organisations but I should like to know why some of those resources are not diverted to job creation projects in Tallaght. I do not think the Government can do anything more prudent than provide employment for the young people. The Garda have complained that some young people in Tallaght do not co-operate with them on occasions but is it any wonder that that occurs when those young people are denied employment or the prospect of it in the foreseeable future? That is what is turning the youth off and it is remarkable that it has not done so to a greater extent. The people of Tallaght are doing everything they can from their meagre resources to create employment. The Tallaght Welfare Society produced an outstanding booklet analysing prospects for the district and other organisations are trying to create employment in the area but the response from the Government has not been good. I hope the debate highlights the need for a change in direction so far as Tallaght is concerned. The Government should be considering providing jobs for the young and not so young.
We cannot rely on private enterprise to provide employment in Tallaght. The IDA have been sitting on land in the area for years. I would be pleased if private enterprise established factories in the area but that has not happened. There must be active intervention by the Government and semi-State agencies to ensure that employment is provided. I accept that there are industrial estates in Tallaght but factories have not been built on them. Many warehouses have been built there to store goods that have been manufactured abroad for distribution throughout the country. Approximately six people are employed in those large factory-type buildings and that does not meet the needs of the people of Tallaght. We need labour intensive industries established there, if not by private enterprise then by the Government or Government-sponsored agencies.
I hope the motion will have the support of all parties in the House and that it will lead to a rethink by this Government on these important and serious issues for the people of Tallaght.
I am pleased to initiate the Government's response to this motion. This Government are endeavouring to provide the much needed facilities in Tallaght by taking comprehensive action in relation to many of the problems facing the community now living there.
First, I would like to congratulate Tallaght Welfare Society for producing their excellent report entitled "The Development of Community and Social Services in Tallaght." The report is an extremely comprehensive document dealing with housing, family support services, community organisations and families, social welfare and health services and services for the elderly and physically handicapped. I am certain that the report will be of immense benefit in the future development of policy in these areas, and others, in Tallaght.
One of the most interesting aspects of the report is that it highlights the extensive community development activity that has evolved over the last number of years in Tallaght. In addition to the large umbrella organisations such as the Community Council, the Youth Federation and the Arts Council I understand that there are 125 local organisations covering such activities as sports, music, arts and youth clubs. While there are a number of problems facing Tallaght today it is evident from the degree of community involvement that the people of the area are determined that these problems are resolved and are prepared to invest significant effort of their own to this end. This is to be highly commended and must be supported by all relevant State agencies in so far as is possible.
As noted in the report this extensive community activity is a clear indication of the positive concern many people in Tallaght have for the development of the neighbourhood and their town. This very constructive attitude is reflected in the concluding comments of the report which highlights the many positive aspects of Tallaght and I would like to emphasise that there are many such positive aspects. These include the good quality housing, the regional parks, the community centres, the high quality of professional social service care and particularly the role of the community sector. A Cheann Comhairle, I would like to share some of my time with Deputy Flood.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
I must emphasise that the development of Tallaght has not been ignored or forgotten even though it is possible to point to some failings and work still in hands. I would like to emphasise that the planners of Tallaght got many aspects right — the Tallaght Welfare Society acknowledge this in many parts of their report. To quote from the report: "there is a plentiful supply of good housing plus a basic infrastructural network of roads, schools and open spaces...the situation has improved in recent years — with Dublin County Council actively providing a range of community and environmental facilities, the Health Board transferring extra staff into the area, the IDA developing an Enterprise Centre, and Dublin Bus setting up its local bus service". The report welcomes the recognition in the 1988 budget, through the extension of the urban incentives scheme to the town centre site, for the need for investment and growth in a range of industrial, commercial and social activities. The report recognises, "that part of the planning idea was the creation of independent communities of 5,000 people or so and to some extent this has worked". It also recognises that, "by and large the actual quality of housing in Tallaght is good. The local authorities, as we have noted already, have invested heavily in good quality construction and their tenants speak well of the houses allocated to them"; "that a large number of green spaces have been provided in Tallaght along with some excellent park facilities". The report also acknowledges the importance of, and the extent of, the significant investment in community facilities by Dublin County Council. The report also has other positive praise for other work by the State agencies. However, by cataloguing the acknowledged successes in Tallaght I would not like to give the Deputies the impression that the Government intend to rest on their laurels as regards Tallaght or that the Government are satisfied with the rate of progress. Quite frankly I am very disappointed at the failure up to now of the commercial sector to provide a town centre for this huge development centre. We are tackling the problems on many fronts and I would like to inform you of progress to date and future plans. I will deal first with the town centre.
Tallaght is an area which has experienced intensive development and rapid population growth in a short time span. It is now a major centre of population in its own right. Tallaght has many assets; it has excellent schools, open spaces and parks, a beautiful hinterland and it has a thriving community life.
This Government have been concerned, however, that the provision of the necessary commercial facilities to service and support the population of the area has not kept pace with the scale of residential and community development. The absence of a suitable retail town centre to service the area and to serve as a focal point for other types of commercial, recreational and other development is an obvious lack.
Dublin Corporation and Dublin County Council have been planning the provision of town centre facilities in Tallaght for many years. Recognising the need to accelerate this project, the Government announced in the 1988 budget than an area in and around the site of the proposed Tallaght Town Centre would be designated for incentives under the urban renewal scheme. The purpose of extending the incentives to Tallaght was to expedite the arrangements for the proposed town centre which has been delayed for far too long.
Dublin Corporation had been involved in protracted negotiations with the proposed developer of the town centre for a number of years. An agreement was reached between the Corporation and the developer two months ago. I would like to think that the budget announcement about Tallaght had the required effect in bringing these negotiations to an early conclusion. For my part I was not prepared to make the necessary order designating the town centre site until such time as Dublin Corporation had a legally enforceable agreement to ensure its development. Once the terms of the agreement were finalised, I made an order on 14 November, designating an area of some 120 acres in Tallaght under the urban renewal scheme. The tax and rates reliefs available under the scheme are valuable incentives and will, I hope, ensure rapid and worthwhile developments.
The incentives will be available in respect of qualifying expenditure on the designated area until the end of May 1991. The limited time available — just two and a half years — will ensure that, in order to qualify for the incentives, the development we all want to see must come to fruition at a very early date.
Some preliminary works have already been carried out on the site of the proposed town centre. I understand that the developer has completed negotiations with the main tenders for this project and will be in a position in the next two weeks to sign the main contract for commencement of work on site immediately after Christmas and that the project will then be scheduled for opening in September 1990.
Th town centre, which will be called "The Square", will provide some 500,000 square feet of retail and leisure development at a cost of over £40 million. The facilities will include prestige food and fashion shops, offices and a multi-cinema complex seating 3,000 people. There will be parking accommodation for over 2,000 cars.
The area designated in Tallaght for urban renewal also includes extensive lands surrounding the town centre site, an area north of the Blessington Road and part of the existing Tallaght village. Designation of the village area will facilitate a co-ordinated and integrated development, dovetailing the old and new and will ensure that the existing village can be upgraded hand in hand with the major new development.
This report provides some valuable comments on the housing and planning process and I believe highlights the need for a considered and integrated approach to housing and planning.
The report rightly acknowledges the high standard of local authority housing provided in the Tallaght area. The houses provided by the housing authorities in Tallaght are basically good houses and I am glad to record that with the exception of the Avonbeg flats complex, remedial works are generally not needed. It must also be appreciated that the large scale development of local authority housing and the preponderance of family type accommodation provided in Tallaght and, indeed, other Dublin suburbs in the seventies and early eighties was in response to the needs arising from rapidly increasing population in the Dublin area. As the report points out, recent years have seen the emergence of additional categories of housing needs such as single people, single parent families and the homeless. These categories together with the elderly now outstrip traditional family type housing needs on local authority waiting lists. Since the seventies local authorities, including those in Dublin, have provided over 10 per cent of new housing by way of purpose built elderly persons' dwellings. The Housing Act, 1988, revises and updates the statutory basis for local authority housing and the new procedures being put in place under the Act place greater emphasis on meeting these special needs in much the same way as the needs of the elderly have already received special recognition. This new emphasis will result in a wider range of responses being used by housing authorities to meet housing needs than simply the provision of new accommodation on green field sites.
The new tenant purchase scheme which I introduced this year will mean that tenants generally will be able to buy their homes at half the market value. This scheme will bring home ownership within the reach of many more tenants than was previously the case and should help bring stability to those estates which have suffered an unduly high turnover of population. Earlier this year my grave concern at the problem of vacant houses in Tallaght was conveyed to Dublin Corporation. I am now informed by the Corporation that some 60 vandalised houses have been or are being refurbished. The corporation have also been asked to make every effort in conjunction with the county council to ensure that adequate arrangements are put in place to deal with this problem and to prevent its recurrence.
The idea of a single development body for areas such as Tallaght has a certain simple logic to it, but on close examination it is very problematic. Tallaght is an integral part of the overall Dublin area and has important linkages with the metropolitan area as a whole. The area cannot be developed or administered in a vacuum and in isolation from the rest of Dublin. Any decisions taken in relation to the infrastructure of other parts of the city and county will have a significant impact on Tallaght and vice versa. We should strive, therefore, to ensure that the area as a whole will be developed in a planned and co-ordinated way. I believe that to establish a new authority at this point would not facilitate such a planned and co-ordinated approach for the future. Tallaght is not a compact area under single ownership such as the Custom House Docks area. These factors mean that simple administrative solutions are unlikely to respond adequately to the complexity of Tallaght's problems.
The broader question of changes in the local government system in County Dublin taking account of the special needs of the Dublin region as a whole, including Tallaght, is a matter which falls to be considered in the context of a comprehensive programme for the overall reform of local government which will include local authority structures, functions, powers, finance and legislative reform. Since becoming Minister I have been carrying out an intensive review of the system and work on the re-organisation programme is now well advanced. I will be announcing details of this programme as soon as possible. The question of the appropriate local government system for the Dublin area is one of the matters which will be dealt with in this context.
The development plan is the planning authority's statement of its objectives for the development and improvement of its area. The plan generally includes objectives for land use zoning, the development and renewal of obsolete areas, the preservation and improvement of amenities, road improvement, water supply, etc. Each planning authority are responsible for the implementation of their development plan and do this through their own development work and through the exercise of development control.
The local development plans may be reviewed from time to time as necessity arises but must in any event be reviewed every five years. County councils must prepare a separate plan for what are known as the "scheduled towns" listed in the 1963 Act. Tallaght is such a scheduled town.
Tallaght is specifically dealt with in detail in the 1983 Dublin County Development Plan. Dublin County Council have had a policy to make land available for development in Tallaght in an orderly fashion and this policy will continue until Tallaght is fully developed. Tallaght has and continues to be promoted as a centre for industrial growth in the Dublin sub-region.
The completion of the review of the Dublin County Development Plan is due next year and work is proceeding apace on the preparation of a draft plan. The county council have recently published a working paper on the western towns around Dublin, including Tallaght. This is a valuable source on the present position in these towns and it is indicative of the problems being addressed in the review process. When the new plan is placed on public display it will, of course, be open to the people of Tallaght to play their part in planning the future development of their town by making objections or representations on the contents of the plan. All objections and representations made to the draft plan must be taken into account by the county council before the plan is finally adopted. This process is an invaluable opportunity for the people of Tallaght to influence future policy on the development of their area and ultimately to channel resources into the areas of development which they themselves would favour over the next five to seven years.
A matter which is of immediate concern to us is the reform of the Structural Funds which is primarily designed to promote the development and structural adjustment, both economic and social, of the regions whose development is lagging behind. A crucial element of this proposal is the commitment by the EC that aid from the Structural Funds for the least developed regions, including Ireland, would be doubled by 1992 and that the rates of contribution from the funds would be increased to a maximum of 75 per cent.
Before the new arrangements come into effect it is necessary for new implementing and co-ordinating regulations to be made. Drafts of these regulations, which have been prepared by the EC Commission, are the subject at European level, of detailed negotiations which are now nearing completion.
In the case of the Dublin area, which is of particular relevance to today's motion, the Government decided in October 1987 that Dublin, which includes the Dublin Corporation, Dublin County Council and Dún Laoghaire areas, was to be the first of seven regions for which an operational programme is to be prepared. A consortium of Davy Kelleher McCarthy, Reid McHugh and Partners and Stokes Kennedy Crowley was appointed as consultants to carry out a study which will lay the basis for the operational programme for the capital. The study aims to identify the obstacles to the economic growth of the Dublin region, to identify its economic strengths and potential and to devise a strategy aimed at meeting the region's needs. Work on the study is proceeding and I wish to assure you all that the needs of Tallaght are being taken into account in the context of the study now in progress. The Government are well aware of the extent of the economic and social problems which face the people of that community and the development requirements of the area in general. It is envisaged that the operational programme for Dublin will help to focus on the various needs of areas such at Tallaght, will identify priorities and outline a development strategy aimed at meeting these needs and improving the quality of life for the communities involved. I would like to take this opportunity to assure the House that when details of the Dublin programme are being finalised and come before Government the particular needs of Tallaght will not be overlooked.
The amenity grants scheme has been debated at length in the House and Deputies opposite were at pains to point out the alleged inadequacy of the allocation system. That is now water under the bridge to a large extent but, as I said at the time, the amount available this year for amenity grants was so small compared with demand, many combinations of projects could have been chosen by different people. One aspect of the allocations made by me which I considered important was the necessity to give each local authority area an equitable share of available funds on the basis of comparative need and I am glad to say that in the case of the Dublin area Tallaght did very well as far as allocations were concerned in that it received a total of £163,000.
How much did County Mayo receive?
Check it now. This amount was more than the allocations made to each of 21 counties and county boroughs. Examples of the types of projects, ten in all, which are being assisted this year are Greenhills Community Centre which is receiving a grant of £15,000, Tallaght United Football Club which has been allocated £25,000, Jobstown Community Centre which gets a grant of £30,000 and a playground in west Tallaght which has been allocated £25,000.
To implement the full plans for the extension of the DART system, including a link between the city and Tallaght, would cost in the order of £500 million. The possibility of such a development had been under consideration for a number of years and the absence of action was no doubt influenced by the likely costs involved. Rather than allow uncertainty to continue, the Government decided last year that proposals for the extension of DART should not be proceeded with because of the considerable costs of any such extension and the state of the public finances. The Government were, nonetheless, not unmindful of the transport needs of the developing western city suburbs and at the time of the DART announcement, my colleague, the Minister for Tourism and Transport, requested the chairman of CIE to prepare public transport investment plans for the Dublin area based on bus only options or diesel rail on existing lines. This was a practical approach to the transport issues. Tallaght comes under the heading of the bus options.
CIE have submitted a report to the Minister for Tourism and Transport in response to his request and the proposals in that report are being examined in his Department. I understand that, outside the framework of that report and with a view to improving the standard of service at peak times, Bus Átha Cliath recently introduced five additional buses on the 50A, 50C and 77 routes. In addition, that company plan to introduce an additional minibus to provide a better service on the existing local-link services in the area and also to provide local-link services on a further route before Christmas. The report to the Minister envisages a new service linking Tallaght with Dundrum and Dún Laoghaire together with a broadening of peripheral services generally. These developments domonstrate that the Tallaght public transport interests are not being ignored.
The new hospital at Tallaght will be one of the major general hospitals for the Dublin area and will, together with Naas Hospital, serve the population of south-west County Dublin, the western portion of County Wicklow and the southern portion of County Kildare. The services currently provided by the Meath, Adelaide and National Children's hospitals will form the nucleus of the new hospital in Tallaght.
The Tallaght Hospital Board were appointed in 1981 to plan, build, equip and commission the new hospital. The board completed the planning brief for the hospital in 1984 and approval was given to the board to proceed with the development on a phased basis.
Considerable progress has been made since then on the planning of the hospital. I am aware of the comments on the length of time it is taking to plan the hospital. I can understand people's impatience in wanting to see the hospital in operation as quickly as possible. However, it should be remembered that unlike many other building projects, a hospital is a highly complex fusion of specialised departments which individually require skills and time to properly plan so as to ensure, that when built, they operate effectively.
This Government are committed to the Tallaght Hospital project and approval has recently issued to the board to proceed to Stage 4 of the planning process. It is anticipated that if the present rate of progress is maintained construction work will commence in mid-1990.
The development of Tallaght and the south west area did not take place in an unplanned way and the area is not without basic amenities. In addition to the modern housing schemes built by the Dublin local authorities, lands were reserved for churches and schools, primary and post primary, and local shops. These amenities have been provided in every district in Tallaght. Lands reserved for industrial development were made available to individual firms and to the IDA at Whitestown. There are also other industrial estates on the Belgard Road and in other districts. Extensive landscaping and recreational facilities are a feature of the area. Killinarden Park, the most recent formal park, was developed at a cost of £500,000 approximately. The roads infrastructure in Tallaght is at an advanced stage and at present provides ready access to all areas. Work will start shortly on the Tallaght Town Centre site while Dublin Corporation have recently invited tenders for a three acre site at the junction of the Tallaght by-pass and Belgard Road for the construction of an hotel. This, of course, will provide many service jobs and is the type of response needed in that area. As I have just indicated, the Tallaght Hospital project just across the road from the town centre site is at an advanced planning stage and the development should start by mid-1990. I am sure my recent designation for special tax incentives of some 120 acres in Tallaght will bring additional much-needed facilities and development.
It is not our intention to oppose the motion since we are all, I hope, of one mind on the necessity of providing much-needed development and facilities in Tallaght. For our part as Government we will continue, within the available resources, to do all we can to provide all the necessary development, facilities and amenities. Our ultimate aim is to make Tallaght a better place for the community.
I understand that the House has agreed to the Minister giving the balance of his time, eight minutes, to Deputy Chris Flood.
When the Minister for Social Welfare, Deputy Michael Woods, came to Tallaght to launch a report by the Tallaght Welfare Society published in May 1988 and entitled Development of Community and Social Services in Tallaght I felt that here at last was a report which not only identified the problems of Tallaght but, more importantly, pointed out how these problems even at this late stage could be tackled and perhaps overcome. I wish especially to pay tribute to Mr. Aidan Thomas, Chairman of the Tallaght Welfare Society, and his colleague, Mr. Brian Kenny, Director, who were largely responsible for drawing up the report in conjunction with their staff and the supporters of the society. If there is any one who genuinely wishes to try to understand Tallaght and the nature of its problems then that person would be well advised to carfully consult the report drawn up by the Tallaght Welfare Society.
The 1986 census results show that Tallaght has a population of 74,000 people, with almost 38,000 of those people under the age of 20 years. I could go on to spell out a whole range of statistics covering the population structure of Tallaght but time does not permit me to do so. However, a crucial point I want to make is that in 1955 the population of Tallaght was just under 400 and in 30 years that population of 400 has grown to 74,000. The real tragedy is that the provision of essential infrastructure has not kept pace with the extraordinary growth I have referred to. People came to live in Tallaght with great expectations of the new town but 30 years later many of their hopes and aspirations for the new town remain unfulfilled.
I believe Tallaght has been used over the years to resolve difficulties for other areas. Low-cost housing has been provided in huge housing estates by the private sector. These developers have repeatedly failed to complete their developments properly and unfortunately many of them have gone out of business overnight leaving major problems behind for the residents of the new estates. Local authorities have solved their housing waiting lists by buying up huge tracts of lands and building housing estates in the Tallaght area which remain as yet vastly underprovided for in terms of community facilities. I must stress here in particular that Dublin Corporation, as a housing developer in the Tallaght area, created major problems in Tallaght by their repeated failure to properly complete and manage their developments in the area. I believe Dublin Corporation's inner city housing problem was solved at the expense of Tallaght and apart from building houses their commitment to Tallaght has been extremely weak and should be corrected forthwith.
Tallaght needs a new local government structure and there needs to be an improvement in the present situation whereby it participates in a council of some 78 members and a district council of some 26 members. These two councils are unworkable so far as Tallaght is concerned and I am glad that the Minister has under review the organisation of local authorities for the greater Dublin area. I hope that arising out of his consideration of this aspect of local government Tallaght will be regarded as an area capable of meeting and dealing with its own problems and needs.
The recent designation of a large portion of Tallaght by the Minister for the Environment, Deputy Flynn, under the urban renewal scheme should provide a major boost for the area and give a major boost to the provision of the new town centre for Tallaght as well as revitalising the old village itself. Tallaght desperately needs a new hospital which I understand is at a very advanced stage of planning. The continued commitment of the Minister for Health, Deputy O'Hanlon, to the Tallaght Hospital and his commitment to its opening in 1992-93 is extremely welcome as it will have an enormous impact on the whole area. The provision of a regional college in the Tallaght area is very badly needed and, again, I ask the Minister for Education to look at this project despite the present difficult national financial situation. Many young people in Tallaght would benefit by the provision of this college and its courses could be structured to meet the needs of the young people and local industry.
Public transport to and from Tallaght is very unreliable and continues to be a very difficult issue. I am absolutely convinced that a rail link to Tallaght would dramatically improve the infrastructure of the area and would be the making of Tallaght. The lands to lay the rail link from the Clondalkin line have been reserved free of development by the local authority. This facility would greatly enhance Tallaght, allow its people far greater mobility and take away much of the sheer drudgery associated with travelling to and from Tallaght on the existing public transport system which needs dramatic improvement.
I cannot let this occasion pass without yet again mentioning the provision of second level school facilities in the Jobstown and Kilnamanagh-Kingswood areas. A school has been established in Jobstown and it needs a suitable building within the parish of Jobstown. Its particular needs are evident to all who are familiar with the area and the enormous social problems in the area would be alleviated to a great extent if a suitable building was provided. Not only would it cater for the needs of Jobstown community college, which as I have said, has been established but it could also be used for adult education and other activities which arise from time to time in the locality. The Kilnamanagh-Kingswood area is experiencing major problems because of the lack of a second level school to serve the area. Soon up to 1,000 young people from these two parishes will have to travel on public transport to attend second level schools elsewhere. This is not very satisfactory from the point of view of the two communities.
Progress has been made in Tallaght in recent years in relation to road development and infrastructural developments in terms of community facilities but a great deal still remains to be done. Tallaght a new town with a population of 74,000 people is entitled to a greater portion of this nation's resources. For too long this area has lagged behind in a commitment from successive Government's to develop the infrastructure which the people in the area rightly expected and are entitled to. Some progress has been made in stablising the community. The tenant purchase scheme introduced by the Minister will go a long way towards redressing the absolutely catastrophic situation which arose as a result of the old £5,000 grant scheme which drew out community leaders from local authority areas which needed that kind of leadership and pushed them into private housing estates. Those same people are now having difficulties in meeting their loan repayments but their only sin was their desire to own their own home. If a suitable tenant purchase scheme had been in place at that time I believe that the difficulties relating to the development of local authority estates which we have seen in the past need not necessarily have arisen. I compliment the Minister on bringing forward the tenant purchase scheme which is proving extremely successful. However, there are other issues in the Tallaght area which need to be addressed.
With regard to security, I am very pleased the Minister for Justice recently found time to visit Tallaght to discuss with the local superintendent and the Garda the difficulties which are arising in the area and in particular some recently highlighted incidents. I am pleased also that the Minister for Justice has appointed an additional Garda superintendent to the Tallaght area, together with a number of additional gardaí. This is what the local community have been calling for and I welcome progress in that regard.
I also compliment the Minister for Social Welfare on his commitment to provide a new purpose-built social welfare head office in the Tallaght area. This I believe the people of Tallaght are entitled to and I appreciate the Minister's decision to bring forward that project and to provide it as part of the Tallaght town centre infrastructural development.
Tallaght has problems. It is at a crossroads. It is up to this Government, of whom I am a supporter, to bring forward all possible projects so that the town of Tallaght can rightly take its place within the economy. Jobs must be provided for its people, as well as the infrastructure to which they are entitled. Facilities for second and third level education are extremely important. I am sorry I do not have enough time to go into a whole range of issues affecting Tallaght, including those where progress has been made and others where progress needs to be made.
I intend to share my time with Deputy Shatter.
We will formally ask for the agreement of the House. It is agreed.
A new Tallaght strategy.
Indeed, a new Tallaght strategy. We could do with one every year and if people had the sense to follow our strategy we would not have the problems we are discussing. I should like to commend the Labour Party on bringing forward this motion. I commend them particularly because in doing so they are supporting in very large measure policy proposals made by Fine Gael which were widely circulated in the Tallaght area some time ago. I have a copy of them here and I intend to refer to them later in my remarks. I have no doubt that Deputy Taylor is very familiar with them.
These proposals were developed after a series of consultations with the Tallaght Welfare Society, the Tallaght Community Council and a number of other groups in Tallaght. Together with a number of my colleagues in this House, in the Seanad, in Dublin County Council and in my own party organisation in Tallaght, I have had extensive discussions, which are continuing, about the future development of Tallaght and a range of issues which are raised in this motion, including the provision of amenities of all kinds, and, above all, the expansion of employment in Tallaght. I am glad to see that we have the support of the Labour Party for many of the policy approaches we have set out. So far I count two parties in this House who are now showing a real commitment to imaginative thinking in relation to the development of Tallaght. I intend to continue that commitment on behalf of my party. I had the pleasure of reiterating that commitment to the people of Tallaght just over three weeks ago when I had the honour of presenting the Tallaght People of the Year Awards on behalf of the Tallaght Community Council.
I appreciate the Labour Party's support in this, all the more in that sections of the motion before us use almost exactly the same words as in my party's policy document. I can give no better illustration than to quote from that document as follows:
If all existing development plans are completed, the Tallaght area will soon have a population roughly the same as that of Cork City.
Our policy document continues:
The headlong, unplanned growth of the greater Dublin South West area has taken place without the provision of the basic amenities — or even essential services — taken for granted in established urban areas of a similar size.
Since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I am very flattered to find exactly those words in the motion before us.
We went on to say a good deal more. We pointed out, for example, that one in ten of all the unemployed people in this country live in south-west Dublin. A huge youth population is emerging in that area. There is little or no provision for their medium or long term future in terms of educational facilities and employment.
We pointed out that in 1985 when Deputy Taylor's colleague, Deputy Liam Kavanagh, was Minister for the Environment, we began to put in place radical changes in local government, designed to give more local control and encourage local initiative and participation at county council level. Those reforms have been put on hold by this Government and I should like to see them reactivated and brought to fruition. It is very clear that in areas of rapid expansion and very large population such as Tallaght and Blanchardstown there is a need for a new approach to local government structures which will bring together not just the work of local government as we know it but agencies like the IDA, FÁS and other State and semi-State agencies. They must focus their efforts on a co-ordinated programme of development in such areas. I should like to see us regarding Tallaght as a forerunner for a new formula of local government initiative which would give people in Tallaght and in similar areas the kind of local government service and support they need.
Deputy Taylor mentioned a very striking comparison. If there were any other town in the country of the size of Tallaght which did not have a local authority we would all be complaining about it and the whole population of the area would feel they had been badly done by. There is clearly a case for the new approach to structures of local government to co-ordinate and to channel all the activities of local government and the State for the benefit of that community.
We believe that in order to assist the growth of strong communities and viable centres of economic activity we should build on the initiatives already proposed by the Tallaght COMTEC and the Tallaght integrated area programme. We need to consider how local groups, community associations and the development and service agencies to which I have referred, the IDA and FÁS, can be brought together in new structures to meet the needs of areas of that kind.
In regard to transport needs, we have proposed a series of steps which are required immediately, as well as a series of longer-term steps which need to be taken. We have proposed, for example, a permanent busway from Tallaght to the city centre and a review of the times of current services. Some progress has been made in the past few months by way of additions and extensions to existing services, but it is very clear that the transport links between Tallaght and not just the centre of Dublin but places like Crumlin hospital are grossly deficient when compared with the needs of the people. We have proposed the reactivation of a commuter rail link from Clondalkin to Connolly Station, with a feeder bus system in Clondalkin and a bus link to Tallaght.
In our proposals for making Dublin again a living city, we pointed out that in the current financial environment it is extremely unlikely that the State, on its own, could develop a rapid rail transport service between Heuston Station and Tallaght and Clondalkin. We therefore proposed that a committee of this House should examine how such a rapid rail system might be introduced by a combination of the public sector and the private sector or — if that is the only way to do it — by granting an exclusive licence to a private sector operator. That is very far from saying that there is an immediate and unambiguous case and availability of funds for the provision of a service of that kind. I have no doubt that we are far from having examined in full detail all the options open to us in that connection.
There is no third level educational institution in south-west and west Dublin between the Liffey and the Dublin mountains for a population larger than that of Cork. Of the outstanding regional colleges and projects which were planned but have not yet been carried out, the most urgent is the proposal for a regional college in Tallaght. That must get priority. I intend in a moment to come to the question of resources on which Deputy Taylor touched somewhat provocatively.
In the area of housing provision, we pointed out that a large proportion of public housing in the area consists of Dublin Corporation houses in a county council area which causes very difficult problems for the tenants of Dublin Corporation who live in the Tallaght area. We proposed that those estates be transferred to Dublin County Council with suitable arrangements for the transfer of tenantship and funding. Pending the transfer, we are pressing for corporation offices in Tallaght to serve corporation tenants. We have pursued that matter in Dublin County Council and in Dublin City Council.
(Interruptions.)
In Dublin County Council, Deputy Walsh has been an active supporter and proponent of such a move and I am glad that the Fianna Fáil Party in Dublin County Council are co-operating. I wish the same applied in Dublin City Council because the Fianna Fáil group there seem to take a diametrically opposed view.
The boot is on the other foot.
I encourage Deputy Walsh to get his colleagues in Dublin City Council to support a perfectly sensible move both from the point of view of the tenants, Dublin County Council and Dublin City Council.
We proposed that national lottery funds should be made available for a major multi-sports centre in the south-west Dublin area. We could go on at length about the facilities that need to be provided there. If all the requirements were put together and a proper application made to the national lottery there would be very little difficulty in the face of the obvious needs of the area in getting those who decide the allocation of national lottery funds to agree that such a series of projects should come very high on the priority list for the allocation of funds. I will give every possible assistance to Deputy Walsh, Deputy Flood and other Members in bringing that matter to the attention of whoever makes the decisions. I will gladly co-operate with other Members in the House to get that done.
I hope Deputy Dukes remembers his party do not have a TD in Tallaght.
So far. I will not be tempted to say any more but I am sure the Deputy got my message. It is not enough to say that the construction of Tallaght Hospital is being proceeded with with all possible haste because we all know that is not true. We know that on two occasions, in 1987 and 1988, the allocations for Tallaght Hospital and the priority to be accorded to it were pushed down the list. That is not a very wise course of action and it will not serve the interest of the people of the area or of the catchment area to be served by the hospital.
As Deputy Taylor pointed out, bringing all those things about requires resources to be made available. However, Deputy Taylor put this in somewhat the wrong context in talking about decisions made here on the Estimates every year because that is not the proper context. The proper context is the simple question of where, in the order of priority, the needs of the Tallaght area come. Where in the order of priority, do the needs of other similar areas in Dublin come? Representing myself and, representing in my more corporate self 41 constituencies, I must point out that the needs of that area have not been high enough on the priority list. Decisions in relation to resources for the kind of development we want to see there will be a very important part of the decisions made on the use of extra funds coming from the European Community in the context of assistance for integrated development programmes, in particular for integrated programmes for the development of the Dublin region. To do that properly, we need planning structures capable of taking into account the needs of an area like Tallaght and capable of giving priority to the needs of the different parts of the area served.
We do not have that structure now. We have a system under which decisions in relation to the Dublin region affecting Tallaght and Blanchardstown and each of the other six planning regions will, effectively, be made by the Department of Finance and the European Commission. There is a token involvement of local authority managers but no Member of this House can say that he or she has met a local authority manager who is involved in it or who thinks that he or she has any role to play. We have consultative structures that are nothing more than a sham. They give the appearance of consultation but that is an argument for another day. The point I want to make is that whether we are talking about Tallaght or any other region, there is no effective way in which the needs, requirements and the priority that should be attached to the development of those areas can properly be put into the mix that will produce integrated development programmes for those regions.
I commend the Labour Party support for our action in this area and I invite the other parties in the House to enthusiastically support the action taken, not alone in supporting the motion before the House—because that is only the beginning—but in supporting the action in Dublin Corporation and Dublin County Council and in the preparation of integrated programmes that will turn our proposals into real jobs and real welfare for the people of Tallaght.
I am glad of the opportunity to participate in this debate. Like other Members who spoke, I should like to pay tribute to the Tallaght Welfare society for the very comprehensive report and analysis they undertook which show what has been achieved in Tallaght and which very clearly set out the problems and difficulties experienced in that area.
In a debate such as this it is correct also to pay tribute to the many other voluntary bodies doing excellent work in Tallaght, such as St. Vincent de Paul and Dr. Barnardos, many of whom are filling gaps that the State has not been willing to fill in and servicing need in the area which would go unserviced without their contribution.
In 1972 the County Dublin development plan envisaged that Tallaght would become a major and essentially self-sufficient urban centre with a full range of industrial, commercial and social facilities. Only 8,000 people lived in Tallaght in 1971 but by 1986 the population had risen to 73,000. It is now in the region of 75,000 to 76,000. There has been an increase of over 800 per cent in the population of Tallaght in 15 years. This is a population growth without parallel in any other part of the country and indeed without parallel in most of the member states of the EC. Despite the vast growth, in particular of housing, Tallaght still has no town centre or cinema and has only one library as well as a mobile library service. There is only one decent health centre and there is a totally inadequate transport system. There is no local hospital and there are major problems of unemployment.
As the report of the Tallaght Welfare Society highlighted, in certain parts of Tallaght unemployment has reached over 40 per cent and in other parts social welfare dependency levels are over 60 per cent. I have no doubt that part of the reason for the problems regarding Tallaght has been the lack of one overview by way of the provision of a comprehensive plan and the putting in place of one authority to co-ordinate the provision of services in the Tallaght area. It is long since past time for major local government reform. Tallaght is currently served by Dublin County Council of which there are 78 members, a council that has more members than the Seanad.
Debate adjourned.