As this is the first time I have spoken in the House since her appointment as Leader of the Progressive Democrats, I wish publicly to congratulate Deputy Harney and wish her well. Having regard to her work up to now, we can be assured that her leadership, drive, motivation and ability will do good not only for her party but also for this entire House.
Our country and the European Community face a daunting task in making real and lasting progress towards greater economic and social cohesion. Although much has been achieved under the present Community support framework — in terms of employment in industry, tourism and other services, in substantive improvements to our roads and other infrastructure, in diversification of the rural economy and in raising the skill levels of our population — much still remains to be done. The gap to be narrowed with the more prosperous areas of the Community is still wide. Unemployment persists at intractably high levels and a substantial dependency ratio reflects our population structure. Our infrastructural base, although much improved, continues to require major investment to prevent our position on the periphery of Europe from accentuating our disadvantages.
One of the ways to address these difficulties lies in the effective use of the increased resources available to us through the new Cohesion Fund and the greatly expanded Structural Funds. We must use these funds to step up the pace of development and job creation in our economy and to equip ourselves to compete more effectively in the Single Market. The National Development Plan constitutes the framework within which we can achieve these objectives and take a dramatic step towards increased prosperity and lasting social progress for all our people.
Investment in the services for which my Department has responsibility — roads, treatment and disposal of water borne and solid wastes, water supply and urban regeneration — will exceed £2.5 billion over the period of the plan. This will pay dividends in the short term through direct and indirect employment on the schemes and in ancillary industries. In the longer term, an enhanced infrastructural base will allow us to compete effectively and promote economic and social development.
Overall, road related employment should exceed 9,000 on the construction and implementation of the programme in the years 1994 to 1999. The effects on the supply side of the wider economy will also be significant: taking the investment in transport infrastructure as a whole, a permanent 1 per cent increase in gross national product is forecast by 2003 and this translates into an increase in total employment of around 14,000 jobs. Expenditure on water and sanitary services is estimated to generate 20 direct jobs per £1 million capital investment. This translates into 2,000 jobs each year over the period of the plan. Additional indirect employment will be sustained or created in the supply and service areas. The works envisaged under the urban renewal programme are particularly labour intensive and about 3,000 direct work year jobs will be created over the duration of the plan with substantial offsite employment also. In addition, environment improvement works in run-down areas will create the necessary local conditions for investment and development.
The European Community has always attached importance to strengthening economic and social cohesion by promoting convergence between the economic and social conditions prevailing in the richer, centrally located member states, and their less affluent counterparts on the periphery. This process was accelerated during the Single European Act. The provision of substantially increased Community assistance was agreed, as was the revision of Structural Funds regulations, to concentrate and rationalise Community aid. Similar considerations influenced the outcome of the negotiations on the Maastricht Treaty which provides for economic and social cohesion to be facilitated through a series of special measures designed to assist peripheral regions in raising the standard of their infrastructure to a level where they can compete successfully.
If economic development is to be achieved equally amongst the regions of Europe, transport infrastructure is of crucial importance. We cannot change our peripheral location but we can develop our transport infrastructure to mitigate the effects. It is vital that we do so if we are to expand our opportunities for economic development.
In the past, limited resources, and the sheer scale of investment required, left us with transport infrastructure inadequate for the needs of the economy. These problems could not simply be wished away. The integrated transport development strategy which has been delivered in the years since 1989 under the Operational Programme on Peripherality has been the turning point.
More than £900 million has been invested in transport infrastructure in that period, attracting £600 million in Community assistance. As a result, very substantial progress has been achieved in developing our road network. A total of 27 major improvement projects, involving 130 kilometres of national primary roads, have been completed since 1989 at a cost of £360 million. Projects completed include the Clonee, Athlone, Newbridge, Glanmire, Bray/Shankill, Bunratty by-passes and I had the pleasure of opening the Dunleer by-pass earlier this week. At present, more than 20 major projects are under construction costing almost £500 million, and involving the construction and improvement of almost 200 kilometres of motorway and dual and single carriageway. Schemes underway include the Northern Cross route in Dublin, Minish-Curraglass in Kerry and the Leixlip/Maynooth/Kilcock, Longford, Mullingar, Portlaoise and Kilcullen by-passes. Smaller improvement works have been carried out on 160 kilometres of the national primary network, and 1,700 kilometres of roads supporting industrial and tourism development have been improved.
The primary objectives of transport investment in the National Development Plan over the period 1994 to 1999 will be to improve internal and access transport infrastructure and facilities, and the reliability of the transport system. The development strategy for national primary routes will focus on four key corridors connecting the major centres of population, key commercial seaports and the three State airports. The corridors are built around the routes which form part of the trans-European road network proposed by the European Commission but also include a series of link routes which serve more peripheral and remote areas, or which provide key links between routes included in the network. This approach is a logical development of that adopted under the existing operational programme which focused investment in a number of priority sections of the national primary road network. While much work is ongoing on these sections, and much remains to be done, we will be using the increased resources available under the National Development Plan to progress outwards along the route network.
I know there will be a particular welcome for the inclusion of the western corridor connecting Letterkenny, Sligo, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Rosslare. This will provide access from the northwest, west and midwest regions to the southern sea corridor ports of Waterford and Rosslare. Both ports have received substantial investment under the operational programme as strategic links for Ro-Ro, Lo-Lo and passenger traffic to the European mainland. The development of the western corridor in linking these ports to the population centres of the western seaboard is an excellent example of integrated transport planning networking different transport modes.
The downstream crossing of the River Lee is the most vital element in the completion of the new road network in the Cork area and will have a significant impact in improving road access to Cork port. It will substantially complete the road aspects of the Cork Land Use and Transportation Study.
There will also be investment in national primary routes not included in the corridors so as to tackle deficiencies in these roads and facilitate development. The overall objective, as stated in the Government's response to the Culliton report, will be to complete the development of the national primary network by 2005 and to ensure a minimum level of service which will provide an inter-urban travel speed of 80 kilometres per hour.
Between now and 1999 national secondary roads will benefit from the investment programme which will be almost double that of the past five years. Special attention will be paid to the development of the two routes which form a part of the strategic corridors — the N52 Dundalk to Nenagh route linking routes N1, N2, N3, N4, N6 and N7 and the N80 Athlone to Rosslare route linking routes N6, N7, N9 and N11. Both cross country routes are of particular importance, especially for commercial traffic. Significant investment will be undertaken also in a number of other routes of economic importance such as the N70, the N56, the N71 the N59, the N61 and the N76.
County and regional roads play an important economic role in Ireland because of our relatively low level of urbanisation and extensive and low density rural settlement patterns. These roads are the vital transport arteries of the local economy and are often the sole means of access for economic activity. Their improvement is vital for the development of agriculture, industry and tourism on which the rural economy is heavily dependent. I am particularly happy that the Government agreed an expenditure of £475 million on these roads under the National Development Plan. I know that this will be warmly welcomed by many people and organisations, especially the sub-regional committees which asked for increased funding for these roads. This followed the widest possible consultation and I am glad that in the contributions, while there have been arguments about who was consulted, no Member argued against any of those provisions or suggested alternatives.
Investment on that scale requires a new approach to the funding of non-national roads, to conform with EC requirements and to ensure the best possible return for local areas. For individual Community co-financed projects, therefore, I will be proposing a scheme of specific grants to local authorities for improvement works which have a significant and quantifiable economic impact, particularly on industrial, tourism and rural development. Discretionary road grants will be retained for maintenance and other non-co-financed expenditure.
There is widespread acceptance of the need for improvement in transportation in Dublin if the city is to continue to function effectively. A total investment of £330 million is, proposed in the plan to implement the recommendations of the Dublin Transportation Initiative. A balanced and integrated package of measures will be undertaken to improve the transport system in the greater Dublin area. Public transport will be significantly enhanced by the development of a light rail transit system, the implementation of quality bus corridors, the upgrading of suburban services on existing rail lines, the introduction of integrated ticketing and a range of infrastructure and other support measures. The Dublin ring road, including the south eastern motorway from Sandyford to Shankill, will be completed to provide a complete western by-pass of the city, and an efficient access route to Dublin port will also be constructed. No increase in arterial road capacity will be permitted within the motorway ring, though some new road construction will be undertaken, where justified, on environmental or safety grounds or to support economic development and regeneration.
There will also be an emphasis on improved management of the transport system. Measures will include enhanced traffic management and enforcement systems, better signposting and road markings, improved facilities for cyclists, pedestrians and disabled people, and traffic calming measures in the city centre and residential areas.
There has been a recognition for many years, both at European Community and national levels, that the environmental dimension is an integral component of economic policies. Traditional views on the relationships between environment and development had a negative ring: expenditure to maintain environmental quality was sometimes seen as a drag on economic development, or economic development could be viewed as running counter to environmental interests. Either way, economic and environmental concerns appeared to be in opposition.
The National Development Plan provides a unique opportunity to underline how far out of date such views are. It has been prepared within a framework of policy and action which has changed in significant ways even since the previous National Development Plan was published in 1989. In 1987, for example, the Single European Act provided that environmental protection requirements should be a component of the Community's other policies. A much stronger statement is included in the Maastricht Treaty: "Environmental Protection requirements must be integrated into the definition and implementation of Community policies". That more explicit obligation has also found expression in the new Structural Funds Framework Regulation which requires member states to present a status report on the national environmental situation and an assessment of the impact, in terms of sustainable development, of the strategies and operations covered by the plan.
A Community strategy to achieve a sustainable development path, not just for the sake of the environment but also for the sake of the continued efficiency of economic sectors interacting with the environment, was set out in the Fifth Environment Action Programme adopted in 1992. In Ireland, the main principles upon which Community policy is now grounded had already been given national expression in the Environment Action Programme published by the Government in January 1990. We committed ourselves then to significant environmental action over the decade, taking particular account of the concept of sustainable development, the principle of precautionary action and integration of environmental considerations in all policy areas.
The National Plan gives effect to the reaffirmation of the principle of integration which was contained in the Programme for a Partnership Government and to our expressed intention to speed up implementation of the Environment Action Programme. Our approach, therefore, is synthesis of Community and national policy and requirements to achieve the growth we need within a high quality environment, but not at the expense of that environment.
The plan has carefully addressed the requirements of the framework regulation. In reviewing the current state of the environment, we have acknowledged the conclusions of the broadly based GREEN 2000 Advisory Group which reported to the Taoiseach earlier this year. We have clearly identified the kind of risks which increased economic activity poses for the environment through, for example, greater production of wastes, increased emissions to environmental media and depletion of natural emissions to environmental media and depletion of natural resources. I am satisfied that we have comprehensive insurances against these risks. At project level, the existing regulatory controls will be strengthened by the licensing functions of the Environmental Protection Agency in relation to specified activities of major polluting potential. There are also extensive public participation provisions in the planning and environmental impact assessment systems which give expression to the shared responsibility which is fundamental to environmental protection.
At a broader programme level, respect for the principle of sustainable development is fundamental to our approach. Both in Chapter 12, on the environmental situation, and in the sectoral development chapters of the plan, we have identified the environmental impacts of our strategy and of the particular operations included in the plan. We will achieve sustainable development, minimising the risks we have identified, by progressing environmental integration and by providing efficient environmental infrastructure to support increased economic activity. The plan demonstrates that the economic sectors have moved some way towards the internationalisation of environmental considerations. I will be agreeing an agenda with the Ministers concerned to make this a systematic part of economic decision-making.
The plan includes provision for £656 million to be invested directly in environmental services. This includes spending on sewerage, water supply, waste, coastal protection and environmental research, Many commentators and organisations, including the Central Bank, IBEC, the Irish Business Bureau and the Culliton and Moriarty reports have underlined the need for investment in infrastructure. The recognition given in the plan to environmental infrastructure is a welcome development. Although the services involved often lack a high profile and are largely unseen, they build capacity within the economy in several ways. They directly service development sectors, enable the environment safely to absorb additional development, protect the natural resource base for expansion in tourism, agriculture and food, and underpin the competitive advantage which a clean environment can create in these areas.
There will be a new operational programme to extend and develop the current programme for water, sanitary and other local services. Water and sanitary services will continue to be the major direct investment area, with a provision of £605 million over the period 1994-99. This investment will be supported by the Cohesion and Structural Funds, recognising the pivotal role of these services in both environmental and economic terms. I will be placing major emphasis on the sewage treatment requirements of the Environment Action Programme and Community law, so that pollution blackspots on inland waters can be eliminated and the outdated and undesirable practice of discharging large quantities of raw sewage into coastal waters and estuaries will end. An extensive programme of new projects is proceeding through design and planning stages at present and a phased programme of construction works will come on stream throughout the decade. Last week the European Commission approved initial support of £10 million from the Cohesion Fund for the early preconstruction stages of six major schemes including Ringsend and Howth sewage treatment and Cork main drainage. Several of the other areas where new or extended services are required have been identified in the plan. I will be reviewing priorities very regularly to ensure that the operational programme will be fully responsive to development and servicing needs throughout the decade.
Policy in relation to waste management has become the focus of increasing attention of Community level and rightly so. Community waste policy now involves a hierarchy of waste management options which lays primary emphasis on waste prevention, followed by promotion of recycling and re-use and then optimisation of final disposal methods for waste which is not reused. We are ordering our waste policies accordingly. A number of important initiatives are already in train, particularly with regard to prevention of waste through use of cleaner technologies and in relation to recycling. My Department is separately preparing comprehensive legislation to modernise and consolidate the law on waste and to provide an improved framework for waste planning, management and regulation. The final link in the chain will be the establishment of an adequate network of waste disposal installations. Provision is made in the National Plan to allow us to work progressively towards this objective, making appropriate provision for both hazardous and municipal waste disposal. I am particularly concerned that we do not jeopardise the opportunity to make adequate provision to meet the needs of industry regarding hazardous waste disposal. Before making any final decisions in this regard, I am anxious that there should be informed public discussion of all the relevant issues. My Department, in co-operation with Trinity College Dublin, will be sponsoring a national seminar in the near future with this in mind.
An element of the plan which offers exciting possibilities is the provision of £116 million for urban renewal. The programme contains an expanded range of measures and new initiatives designed to resuscitate social and economic life in core areas of our urban centres, the rehabilitation of the built environment, the restoration and conservation of urban architecture and heritage, and the completion of the Temple Bar cultural quarter.
Important steps have been taken over the last few years to tackle the problem of urban decline. The tax-based urban renewal scheme, which operates in selected areas of 24 cities and towns throughout the country, has achieved great success in promoting private sector development. Projects valued at over £1 billion, between projects completed, in progress and in planning, have now been prompted by the urban renewal scheme. The measures outlined in the national plan will build on the achievements of the present scheme. A series of urban improvement measures will be undertaken in various locations throughout the country and covering a range of environmental upgrading activities. These could include cultural, heritage and conservation projects, and projects aimed at bringing unused floor space back into everyday use.
The second part of the programme will cover Temple Bar where a range of cultural facilities is to be provided. The purpose is to create a new focal point for culture and tourism in Dublin, which will be of major significance in the regeneration of the Dublin City Centre area. The total cost of the urban renewal programme is £116 million — £82 million for the general urban improvement measures and £34 million for Temple Bar cultural quarter.
It is opportune that the National Development Plan should be launched at a time when we are about to embark on a major new institutional departure in Irish public administration with the establishment of eight regional authorities. These authorities will have an important contribution to make to national development by promoting coordination and co-operation among the various agencies responsible for the provision of public services including, of course, the local authorities. They will also be able to provide a regional focus and a regional voice where these are lacking at present.
The regional authorities' areas will be used for the purposes of the Structural and Cohesion Funds and the authorities will be responsible for monitoring and advising on the implementation at regional level of the operational programmes and making recommendations to the programme monitoring committees. The review function is, in effect, being put on a statutory footing. Its status and authority will be greatly enhanced by virtue of operating within the framework of statutory institutions with membership drawn from democratically elected public representatives, while at the same time having structures which provide for involvement of the relevant regional interests, including of course, the social partners.
In conclusion, the National Development Plan draws together a range of measures across the whole spectrum of economic and social activity to give this country the best long term returns in terms of increasing employment and growth, and improved competitiveness and living standards. It addresses the central economic and social issues which we face, and its impact will be apparent not only in the years up to 1999 but into the next century as well.