Paul McGrath
Ceist:12 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment the areas which are designated for urban renewal in 1990; and the consideration which has been given to the town of Mullingar, County Westmeath and Longford town.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Urban Renewal.
I have had requests from many urban local authorities and interested persons for an extension of urban renewal designation to their areas, and all such requests are carefully considered. Given the special nature of the urban renewal incentives, comment on particular cases has to be at the discretion of the Minister for the Environment and is normally reserved.
I have, however, stated my proposal, in reply to Question No. 59 of 19 July, 1989 and subsequently, to extend designation for urban renewal to a number of new areas in Dublin inner-city and to parts of Ballina, Bray, Carlow, Clonmel, Drogheda, Ennis, Longford and Portlaoise.
Is the Minister aware that on the last occasion this matter was raised in the House the Minister promised that necessary new area designations would be made in January this year and would probably be made before the budget speech? Can the Minister indicate the reason for the delay in the new designations which is preventing development which could be taking place in these areas and will he indicate the timescale now within which it is intended to make the new orders?
This question refers to Mullingar only and to Longford town. An extension outside of that is not in order now.
The deadline has not been reached and I hope to rectify that in the near future. A lot of negotiation with the local authorities was involved and the staff have been pretty stretched on other matters concerning the Presidency and so on.
Are we likely to have an announcement before April?
Yes, I would think so. There are quite a number of other people waiting for it because it is holding up investment proposals. There are considerable investment proposals available to service those new routes.
Can the Minister say if there is any particular reason Longford has not been sanctioned? Proposals from the local authority have been with the Minister's Department for quite some time. Because there is a certain awareness of the need for development in Longford at present, it has been agreed by various local groups that it is very important that this should move soon. Can the Minister give some indication as to when Longford will be sanctioned?
I agree that there is a need to move along with it. Longford will be included in the new designated areas. There was a fair bit of activity on the ground down there and we had to settle up the matter with the bank. The consultations as far as Longford is concerned have been finalised. There are a number of other areas, too, and we cannot proceed without having them all in place, that includes the eight new ones together with some of the city extensions and a few other proposals we have. As Deputy Shatter says, I did not meet the deadline I set myself. It was outside my control at that time but I am actively pursuing it now and I hope to be able to meet the deadline as indicated to Deputy Shatter.
Do you have the list for Longford?
I think it is finalised at official level.
Question No. 13.
I wish to ask a supplementary.
The next question. The Chair will be obeyed, Deputy Gilmore.
Am I not allowed to ask a supplementary?
Obey the Chair, please.