It would be an understatement to say there was grave disappointment at the decision not to grant Kilrush urban renewal status. People were confounded given that the town met four of the criteria set down by the Department of the Environment and Local Government for acquiring such status. There was further confusion when towns with smaller populations, such as Clara, County Offaly, and with similar populations, such as Newcastlewest, County Limerick, and Tipperary, were included. Why were the criteria not applied uniformly across the board and why was Kilrush refused urban renewal status? The people of the town deserve an explanation.
Following on this development people from all walks of life in the town contributed to a meeting organised by the chamber of commerce. The designation of this status was seen as an economic lifeline which the town had to get. It was strongly depending on it. In west County Clare it was believed that if urban renewal status was awarded to Kilrush it would undoubtedly encourage inward investment from a variety of industries, including manufacturing and technology, and inward migration. It would also have made the town a far more attractive place because of enhanced and improved facilities and a greater variety of services. In view of this the Government announcement was a bombshell. There was an incredible level of disappointment. The view was that this was just another kick in the teeth.
In recent years it has been difficult to attract industry to Kilrush because of its peripheral location. It was strongly hit throughout the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s when many traditional industries in the town, such as flour milling, the milling of foodstuffs and animal feeds, timber milling and a major pottery factory, were closed down. As a result the town has a serious unemployment problem. There is a higher proportion of unemployed in the town in comparison with levels in the rest of the county and the country. In view of these factors there was a need for an action plan, of which the designation of urban renewal status would have been the first step.
A number of suggestions were made at the public meeting to which I referred. One of these was that the Minister of State would establish an appeals mechanism to enable a town like Kilrush appeal the decision on urban renewal status. The group which assessed the application for the status was advisory in capacity and the Minster of State was not bound by its recommendations. We hope he will ensure that the town can present its case again and that, sooner rather than later, he will meet a deputation from the Kilrush Chamber of Commerce and the other organisations involved in preparing the integrated area plan for presentation to his Department for consideration.
In December 1994 when Deputy McCreevy was Minister for Tourism and Trade, SFADCo refused a Cohesion Fund grant to Kilkee Waterworld. There was an outcry in Kilkee at this decision and, following a change of Government, I approached the then Minister for Tourism and Trade, Deputy Kenny, and put it to him that given that one was entitled to appeal the rejection of an application for unemployment assistance, surely a developer or town is entitled to an appeal mechanism if they have been refused funding for a major project involving a multi-million pound investment in their town? In response, the Minister established an appeal mechanism at national level with the result that the case of Kilkee Waterworld was appealed. The decision was reversed and the venture has been a success.
I appeal to the Minister of State to establish an appeal mechanism along similar lines. I also ask him to visit Kilrush and see for himself what is involved. Coming from a similar constituency, he would identify with the difficulties faced by a peripheral town on the west coast.
The only criterion on which Kilrush would not have qualified for urban renewal status was population. The population of the town is just under 3,000, whereas the criterion set out was 4,000 or 6,000. However, if this was applied to the holiday resorts scheme there would be no investment in Kilkee, with a population of 1,200 or Lahinch, with a population of 600. It is futile to use that as an excuse for not granting urban renewal status to Kilrush, although we do not know the reason for the refusal.
I ask the Minister of State to consider the report compiled on behalf of Clare County Council and submitted to the Department of the Environment and Local Government entitled Presenting an Integrated Area Plan for Kilrush. If the Government considers the figures outlined in the report it will be morally obliged to act. They indicate that Kilrush has experienced a serious level of net migration from specific age groups in the ten years from 1981-91. During that time the total migration from the town was 1,434 from a population base of 9,169. That represents a net outward migration of 16 per cent, which is very high.
The report goes on to state that the unemployment rate in 1991 was 28.2 per cent against a national average of 16.9 per cent. In addition, in the local and urban district council housing area, 561 people are living in 118 houses. Of that number, only 12 are in full-time employment. If the Government considers it does not have a responsibility to a town facing such difficulty, where does it have responsibility?
This report presents the Government with an opportunity to show goodwill, to display a social conscience and concern. It is also an opportunity to encourage private inward investment to a town that is suffering serious deprivation from emigration, high unemployment and a high number of lone parents. These people are especially marginalised because they have none of the support systems currently based in Shannon, Ennis and Limerick. There is a lack of proper public transport from the town to these centres.
These factors will lead the Minister of State to see that there is a need for investment in Kilrush. There are many people from Kilrush and west Clare who are well qualified in many areas of life and contribute hugely to the economy in other parts of the country. They would dearly love to return to their home area to establish a business if they were given the opportunity. Many were waiting for that opportunity in the form of urban renewal and they were disappointed when that did not happen.
I ask the Minister to look at the case for Kilrush again, to put an appeals mechanism in place so people can appeal their case, and to consider awarding urban renewal status to Kilrush. This is morally and ethically justified from a social justice point of view.
