Vol. 572 No. 6
79 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the progress made to date with regard to the review of the Western Development Commission being undertaken by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24068/03]
107 Mr. M. Higgins asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the terms of reference of the review of enterprise in rural areas; when he expects that the review will be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24049/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 79 and 107 together.
As I have stated on a number of occasions, the review of the Western Development Commission is in progress but will not be finalised before a separate study of how best to support enterprise in rural areas has been carried out. The terms of reference for the review of enterprise support in rural areas are as follows: to identify and describe the availability of official support for enterprise, including tourism enterprise, in rural areas, that is, all areas excluding the greater Dublin area, the gateways and hubs, as defined in the national spatial strategy, and their areas of influence, and their structures of delivery, and to identify weaknesses or gaps, if any, in supports and-or their structures of delivery taking account of EU state aid law, the national spatial strategy and Exchequer financial constraints. In regard to the previous point, it will identify the likely effects of, and make recommendations on, designating areas as the only ones where official assistance will be provided for establishing certain services and industries, where such sectoral targeting does not exist.
Arising from consideration of the above and previous points, it will recommend structures of delivery, focusing on the sub-regional level, including the number and role of agencies needed to optimise enterprise, including tourism enterprise, development in rural areas and avoid unnecessary duplication.
For this purpose, regard should be had to the role and function of the Leader companies, county enterprise boards, Enterprise Ireland, the Western Development Commission, SFADCo, Údarás na Gaeltachta, Fáilte Ireland, the regional tourism authorities and the amalgam of Bord Bia and Bord Glais. In so far as issues are already addressed under the terms of reference for the major tourism policy review currently under way, they do not form part of these terms of reference. I expect that this review will be completed by mid-December next.
The Minister referred in his answer to duplication. Is the duplication involving the Western Development Commission, the Leader programme and county partnerships responsible for the underspending of the national development plan funding by €634 million in the area?
No, the under-spend, which is the subject of another question, was due to complex factors. Some of the organisations were held back by foot and mouth and we expect them to catch up. There is also the question of major infrastructural development, which is mainly NRA-led, a serious issue. The terms of reference of the report, however, are not all about structures – we are sometimes obsessed with structures rather than supports.
Without pre-empting any report that might be prepared by the consultants, the issues are simple. Despite our best efforts, rural areas are not attracting the development we would like to see. There are many agencies – the Western Development Commission, Údarás na Gaeltachta and others – which have been given considerable sums to tackle this problem, with varying degrees of success, but there is still a haemorrhage into the big cities and towns. We are asking this group to analyse the best way to maximise for the existing spend ways to attract industry, enterprise, development and tourism into rural areas. We have asked the group to look at every aspect and not just to re-arrange the deck-chairs in terms of structures. That is why the terms of reference specifically mention targeting certain types of industry in certain areas – to achieve a critical mass in them, particularly if they are linked to a gateway town with a speciality and a university.
The Minister recently asked Galway County Council to look at a number of towns within the county with a population greater than 1,500 to establish their capacity for decentralised projects. What does that signal for the decentralisation programme and about thinking within Government? Is there a clear view in Government about where decentralised projects will be based? Will the national spatial strategy be used as a basis for directing projects to towns?
It was stated at the council that the Minister is looking at towns along the western corridor railway line. Does it make sense then to use the national spatial strategy to implement the decentralisation programme? The Minister for Transport referred previously to saving the corridor by building the critical mass in towns along it. This is an opportunity for the Government to decentralise Departments to towns identified under the national spatial strategy which are located along the corridor.
The Deputy obviously has a certain town in north County Galway in mind when he draws up his criteria.
Following the publication of the strategic rail review, the Minister for Transport indicated that he is open to the concept of developing a strategy that would make the re-opening of the western rail corridor a viable proposition in terms of usage. Following that statement, I asked the Western Development Commission to bring the local authorities together to state clearly that towns along the corridor, from Ennis to Collooney, will be defined as growth nodes in their development plans. By doing so, we will create the circumstances that will make things happen. If a person wants something to happen, rather than just wishing for it, something concrete to make it happen must be done.
In that context, I asked the commission to look at the possible intermesh that would result from re-opening the western rail corridor to link with the east-west rail corridors and the possible role it might play in creating a matrix on which decentralisation could be based. We all recognise there are certain requirements for decentralisation, such as accessibility. The Western Development Commission has been working on this and I hope to see its report within the next month.
This report, however, will be different from previous reports because it will be cemented by action at local authority level where, if necessary, there will be material alterations to county plans to designate these towns as special towns for development. That should create the circumstances for growth and growth will make it easier to persuade planners that we need to open commuter railway lines in the west.
In light of the most recent statistics from the CSO indicating that the deepest pockets of unemployment, the worst depopulation and the lowest levels of wealth distribution are all in the west, does the Minister consider that there has been a failure of resources or of existing structures?
It is not a failure of resources because urban areas receive more per capita in resources than rural areas under all headings. Unfortunately, some of the resources received by urban areas are to deal with disproportionate spending on justice measures because of the social problems that exist. We certainly have not, however, succeeded in tackling rural migration that leads to the sucking of the active, developing and entrepreneurial groups into urban areas and that is why I set up the enterprise review with the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. It is about time we re-examined the area in the context of today's changing circumstances.
When the vast majority of the rural population completed only first level education 40 years ago, the idea of establishing manufacturing industry so they could work in that industry seemed sensible. Now, however, up to 70% of the rural population completes second or third level education and it is not so simple. Even if 500 industrial jobs are created in those areas, the best and brightest young people would not necessarily stay because they are looking for employment that is commensurate with their education. The task before us is more complex than it was in the past but there are creative new solutions involving transport, the clustering of industries in certain areas and encouraging those from rural areas with good qualifications to create industry rather than depending on foreign direct investment.
Will the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs guarantee that he will make a difference for rural development in areas that do not have proper infrastructure? At the recent meeting of the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body, I questioned the Northern Ireland Minister of State regarding the N2, the road from the fourth biggest city in this country, Derry, to Dublin. He advised me, in no uncertain terms, that the main emphasis of the Irish Government is on the M1 and the extension to Belfast as a priority. His comments frightened me. Is the Minister in a position at Cabinet to make a difference and make certain that the infrastructure that is needed, such as roads, railways or broadband, is provided?
Small industry cannot exist in areas like counties Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal, where there is no railway, if there is not proper alternative infrastructure. Deputy Keaveney said it takes her five and a half hours to come from her home in County Donegal to Dublin. Obviously, it takes a business person the same time. Infrastructure is, therefore, vital to these areas.
I will not argue the details with Deputy Crawford. However, my understanding is that if one is going from Dublin to Carrickmacross, one goes up the M1 into Ardee on the link road and then to Carrickmacross. The preferred route from Ardee to Dublin now is the motorway.
However, the issue for Deputy Crawford is how to get from Ardee to the Border. The Carrickmacross bypass has already been given the go-ahead and it has gone to construction phase. My memory may be faulty, but there is planning going ahead in Castleblayney and other towns. I agree with the Deputy it is important that the N2 from Ardee to the Border, and the following section across Northern Ireland, is completed as fast as possible.
The N3 is also vital.
I agree with the Deputy on the N3. A huge section out of Dublin, which caused controversy recently, needs to be done.
I am disappointed – I have made no bones about it – that the spend for the BMW region was not up to target for the first three years. I accept that the NRA has not delivered on the Government's targets. I have made strong representations to my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Deputy Brennan, regarding this issue. The Government policy is the national development plan. The NRA is obligated under the NDP to follow Government policy. Target expenditure in the BMW region will have to be greatly accelerated to meet the targets in the remaining years of the NDP and to achieve the completion of the plan as outlined by Government within the timeframe of 2000 to 2006.
The new strategy on western development is currently being drawn up by the western development commission. Can I take it from the directions given to the commission by the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs that there should be positive discrimination in favour of the towns in the seven counties that fall within its remit? Is it true that the programme should be concentrated in terms of the smaller towns that are not classed as gateway or hubs in the national spatial plan?
A number of my colleagues have stated that there is no point in bringing decentralisation to towns that are already growing to their utmost capacity. It should be focused on areas that need decentralisation to give them the kick-start for growth. That has been made clear by myself and some of my colleagues. I fully support this move.
We have to make hard and rational decisions to prioritise towns that fit certain criteria in terms of accessibility and so on. They also need the kick-start of development to get them growing. I discussed this matrix approach of criteria with the commission, so that they would see how it would fit in the western region. Their remit is for counties Donegal and Clare and the Connacht counties. The work they are doing could be a working example of how this could be developed throughout rural areas in the State, where the decentralisation programme should be directed.
Written Answers follow Adjournment Debate.
