I am very pleased that I have been given the opportunity to present my case to the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food as to a proposal that is on his desk to have the Slieve Bloom mountain area designated as an environmentally sensitive area under EC Regulation 797/85.
The Minister will be aware of the area covering an expanse of land in north-east County Laois and south-east County Offaly — an area that has suffered somewhat over the past number of years as we see the continuous neglect of rural areas. I would draw the Minister's attention to a survey undertaken by Teagasc in that region which shows that only 3 per cent of the agricultural land is used for tillage purposes and that the remaining 97 per cent of land is grass, forestry or mountain grazing. I would draw the Minister's attention to the population of the area which has been dwindling over the past quarter of a century. It is an area that now has just 4,000 people, many of whom are rearing young families with a view to remaining on the land. I put a simple stark fact before the Minister to underline the need for the Government to use the European benefits available to them in order to keep the lifeblood in the rural community. It is this: the Glendine valley in the Slieve Bloom mountains, on the borders of County Laois and County Offaly, does not have one person residing in its entire area and that is in stark contrast to the situation of 15 years ago.
When one hears Government Ministers speak in glowing terms of integrated rural development and projects to ensure the viability of rural areas, of protection of the family farm and the protection of people within rural areas, these statements become mere jargon unless we can apply them to specific areas in rural communities. I submit to the Minister of State that there is no more suitable area for designation under the terms and conditions of this EC regulation than the Slieve Bloom mountain area. This is an area that has already been recognised for its environmental assets by virtue of being designated an environmental park in 1975 by the Coalition led administration of the day. It was hoped that progress along conforming with environmentally sensitive criteria would have been made since then. Unfortunately, that has not happened.
It is interesting to note that we are one of the few countries in the European Community that does not have one acre of its land declared an ESA under this scheme. In Northern Ireland I understand there are two areas that have been designated, one in north County Down and one in the Glens of Antrim. It is important that the Government ensure that we use the benefits available to us under the European Community regime. I hope that consideration will be given to the areas which are most suitable for designation. Perhaps the Minister would comment on an area he considers more suitable than the Slieve Bloom area, but I do not think a more suitable one exists.
It is important that we look at agriculture in conjunction with tourism. I will not speak in terms of GATT or CAP or any of the attacks that are being made on rural areas. I will not mention anything about the withdrawal of services — for example, post offices, Garda stations, schools or anything of that nature. We all agree that there is an attack on rural communities and we should look to the benefits available under the type of scheme about which I am speaking.
It is important that we commit ourselves to the preservation of the rural way of life, both in relation to tourism and in conjunction with what remains of agriculture. I draw the Minister's specific attention to the flora and fauna and the natural beauty of the Slieve Bloom mountain area which is unspoilt, unpolluted, very accessible — a mere 50 miles from Dublin — and adjacent to the main arterial transport routes. Designation would ensure the future viability of this area. I ask the Minister to commit himself to a submission for appropriate designation prior to the end of 1991.
