Bertie Ahern
Ceist:3 Mr. B. Ahern asked the Taoiseach if he will give an overview of the role played by the coordinating committee chaired by a Minister of State at his Department in relation to the infrastructural needs of the west. [19160/96]
Ceisteanna—Questions. - Western Development.
Bertie Ahern
Ceist:4 Mr. B. Ahern asked the Taoiseach the measures, if any, adopted by the Government to aid the development and address the problem of depopulation in the west. [19418/96]
Michael P. Kitt
Ceist:5 Mr. M. Kitt asked the Taoiseach the response, if any, he will make to discussion papers from the Western Development Partnership Board in respect of road spending, overseas jobs, objective one status and tourism trends in relation to the western region. [21615/96]
John Ellis
Ceist:6 Mr. Ellis asked the Taoiseach the amount of money which will be invested by the Government each year in the Western Investment Fund. [21595/96]
John Ellis
Ceist:7 Mr. Ellis asked the Taoiseach the action, if any, he proposes to take on foot of the action plans of the Western Development Partnership Board. [21598/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 to 7, inclusive, together.
That will be unique.
Deputy Burke is bored.
Touché.
Deputy Carey is the best Minister of State — at least he turns up for everything. He is a decent man.
My appointment as Minister of State with responsibility for western development and rural renewal was clear recognition by the Government of the importance of rural renewal issues as an integral part of public policy. It was also a direct response to the wishes of rural communities, particularly in the west, to continue to live among family and friends in vibrant and forward looking communities.
In this regard I am overseeing a number of important initiatives arising from the publication of the action plan for western development which has been prepared by the Western Development Partnership Board. The partnership board proposes that the action plan will form the basis of strategic and coherent action for economic and social development based on achieving population stability by the end of the decade, on a county by county basis, at 1991 census levels. In response to the specific questions put down, the following is the position.
In view of the need to ensure that any new structures fit with existing and proposed structures, particularly in relation to economic and social development at local level, the Government has decided to establish the Western Development Commission as a limited company rather than as a statutory body. The proposed commission will replace the Western Development Partnership Board on expiry of its term of office on 31 December 1996.
The commission's central function will be to complement and add value to the activities of the agencies that currently operate in the western region, particularly the local authorities, and to promote the economic and social development of the region through the various activities which it undertakes. Detailed arrangements for the establishment of the commission, including its composition, terms of reference and specific functions, are at an advanced stage and the Government will announce these in due course.
The Government considers there is a niche for long-term venture capital and equity for developing businesses in the western region, and that the establishment of such a fund will be central to achieving the goals of the action plan. The Government will honour the commitment it has made, that it is prepared to make available up to £25 million to the fund over the next six years. The fund will be set up and managed on a professional and commercial basis and will draw on resources progressively from the Exchequer, the EU, the European Investment Bank and private depositors. The putting in place of matching private sector funding will be a priority of the new commission, while the possibility of accessing appropriate EU funding is being explored by my Department. As with the Western Development Commission, arrangements for the establishment of the Western Investment Fund are at an advanced stage, and I expect to be in a position to announce details of the fund, including its management and the composition of the capital to be made available, shortly.
The Government believes that a study on settlement patterns in rural areas which the National Economic and Social Council has been asked to undertake will provide an important perspective on population trends and their implications for rural communities. The outcome of this study will inform the Government on future policies to be pursued to address problems of population imbalance, particularly in the west. I hope that the NESC report will be completed early next year.
The Government agreed that I should coordinate discussions between the partnership board and the relevant Departments and agencies on the various indicative proposals for sectoral development contained in the action plan. A number of exploratory meetings to discuss the sectoral proposals have already taken place and further meetings are being arranged. These meetings are important in assisting the partnership board to develop its indicative proposals and to identify the strategic priorities in the key sectors identified in the action plan which will be addressed by the Western Development Commission on its establishment. The discussion documents submitted by the Western Development Partnership Board have been an extremely valuable and informative input in assessing the current position regarding the many sectoral issues pertinent to the western region.
In view of the importance of the agriculture and fisheries sectors for the western region, I have established a working group of officials from the relevant Departments with the objective of exploring how best agriculture and fisheries policies might be developed to support less intensive family farms and small scale marine enterprises. The Western Development Partnership Board has been invited to prepare proposals in this regard, for consideration by the working group.
I thank the Minister of State for his detailed reply. I am glad we reached these important questions on western development, which have been on the Order Paper for some time. I wish to ask the Minister of State three questions and my colleagues, representing western constituencies, also wish to ask him a number of questions. Will the Minister request the committee examining these matters to consider closely CIE's proposals to close the freight line service in the west, which would be contrary to the spirit of the bishops' report on the west, A Crusade for Survival? I dealt with this important matter when I was Minister for Finance.
Will the Minister of State agree that this proposal is part and parcel of the Government's neglect of the west which is clear in so many policy areas? I understand from what he said that forestry expansion and the location of some of the processing plants in the south east would create new freight services on the rail lines, but that does not appear to be happening. Will the Minister of State agree that, as part of the overall plan for the west, there is a case for a rail link between cities such as Galway and Limerick and the town of Westport? Will he indicate if CIE intends to close the new passenger rail service to Ennis?
I thank the Deputy for his kind comments about my detailed reply. When he was Minister for Finance negotiating Structural Funds and how they should be allocated, he had an opportunity to provide aid for the western corridor, for the road or the rail network but his Department failed to do that. It has been left to us to work out a system with Iarnród Éireann to ensure that the line survives. I note that most of the moneys under the Structural Funds are being allocated to the east. Why is that the case? Is it because Deputy Ahern was Minister for Finance when the Structural Funds were negotiated and is he claiming that as his achievement?
Regarding the west and the provision of this rail line, the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications has given a categoric assurance that the rail line will remain open. Mr. Waters, the general manager of Iarnród Éireann, gave me an assurance that while there was concern about the viability of the line he would do his best to ensure it remained open. Since then we have received reassurance from the Minister in that regard and I am satisfied with that. The former Government's planning did not indicate any degree of confidence in this line. Expression of such confidence was necessary when we applied for Structural Funds. Why were funds not allocated to aid people in rural areas, given that additional Cohesion Funding was given to aid peripheral areas? Unfortunately, the western roads and western rail links were excluded. We must press Iarnród Éireann that savings achieved by being able to utilise Structural Funds to upgrade the main lines must be reinvested in the western rail line. That is what I am pursuing.
I do not wish to make this an east-west debate. My question referred specifically to position papers on which the Minister of State has not responded.
I will check that.
In 1995 eight major investment projects attracted by the IDA located in the region from Donegal to Clare. However, if Galway is taken out of the equation, only two of those projects were located in the region for which the Minister of State has responsibility. Why is that so? Regarding the freight line service, the Minister of State is aware I attended a meeting in Gort on Friday, 8 November at which we heard about an undated letter — that appears to be a new feature of the Government — from the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, but it did not give a commitment that the line will remain open. A deadline of 20 December applies in this regard. Will the Minister of State confirm that the railway line and the freight service will not close on 20 December?
I acknowledge Deputy Kitt has a particular interest in the railway line. He accompanied a deputation to my office long before this matter was raised in the public arena about the economic use of the western corridor. In a reply given to Deputy Treacy, the Minister assured him that the line will remain open. As I said in Gort, I was given a guarantee by Mr. Waters that the line will not close and that every effort would be made to upgrade it and make it more viable.
The trains are still running. Why has it remained open for ten years?
A further meeting will be held in Gort on Friday night at which Deputy Kitt and I will be given an opportunity to establish more confidence in the line, to ascertain if we can increase the number of freight companies using the line. CIE claims the line is uneconomic, but we will consider how we can improve the viability of the line. As a contribution to the economics of the west, I have no doubt that the line has a major role to play.
On the issue of attracting industry into the area, most of the industry attracted to this country has located on the east coast because of the high profile given to that region. I have urged communities in the west to look at the profile of their region. Aid is available now which can be utilised through community effort to draw up a development plan and to highlight valuable locations. I have attended meetings in the west to be told that the greatest amount of money for investment is in the nearest Bank of Ireland or AIB branch. They wonder about the commitment to their town while they allow people like Deputy Ahern to utilise such money on the east coast or, as Deputy Ó Cuív said invest it in pension funds in Australia, New Zealand or elsewhere. There is a BES scheme to establish advance factories in any part of the west. If the anxiety for partnership exists in the west why has nobody taken it up?
We will be proceeding to deal with priority questions in less than five minutes.
The Minister of State said £25 million will be made available over a six year period, which works out at an investment in the west towards job creation of £4 million per year, does he consider this to be adequate? What efforts is he making as Minister of State with responsibility for western development to have the amount increased to a realistic figure?
We do not have a great track record with regard to the development of venture capital. NADCORP made plenty of long-term venture capital available nationally, yet only one or two projects utilised it. The former Taoiseach, Deputy Reynolds, abolished NADCORP. There is a difficulty in immediately identifying viable projects. It takes time, which is why it is most important to establish a proper and constructive western commission that will seek these investment opportunities in a constructive manner.
What other action has the Minister of State taken with regard to the provision of jobs in the western area? What action does he propose to take to improve the roads infrastructure, which is now in crisis? Sligo town is in my constituency. It is a corridor and main thoroughfare to the north-west, yet it will not have its new relief road.
I met the chief executive of the National Roads Authority and we discussed the western region. I am fully up to date and have made strong representations to the Minister for the Environment to ensure that if additional funds are needed they can be diverted for the completion of western roads.
It is necessary to focus on western areas. I did not agree with the system of radial roads going into Dublin. An eastern and a western corridor is essential for the development of the economy of the west but the region must first develop itself. However, I have inherited the proposals before me. I am doing my best to impress on those who take the view that economic return is the only criterion by which national roads can be developed. Social exclusion should also be a criterion.
When the previous Government, of which Deputy Joe Walsh was a member, sought EU Structural Funds, the criterion it established for road development was economic return. This is how matters have developed. Some of the road improvements, including the bypasses on the radial roads, have been magnificent. The time taken to travel from the west to Dublin has improved enormously, which should be commercially good.