Tá fáilte roimh an Aire go dtí an Teach agus tá súil agam go bhfuil dea-scéal aige mar gheall ar Muileann gCearr. I welcome the Minister to the House and thank him for taking this motion on the Adjournment pertaining to decentralisation to Mullingar. I am sure this is not the first request the Minister has received from Members of the Oireachtas and it will not be the last. Mullingar is situated on the N4 at the centre of an improving road network. The N4 has been upgraded to a large extent, bypassing Mullingar by way of a dual carriageway. Further works are proposed to the east and to the west of the Mullingar stretch, also pertaining to the N52 bypass both eastern and western. Certain works have been done pertaining to the western N52 bypass. There is a sound and improving road network in and around Mullingar.
I wish the sister town of Athlone and the towns of Tullamore and Longford well. They have all been included in the decentralisation programme in one way or another. It is high time Mullingar was considered. There are many reasons why it should be. It has four secondary schools: St. Mary's College, St. Finian's College, the Community College and Loreto College. A good ongoing stock of well qualified young people is readily available. The Institute of Technology lies 30 miles down the road in Athlone providing young people with third level education. There is also a fine hospital infrastructure, with St. Mary's Geriatric Hospital, Longford Westmeath General Hospital, and the private hospitals – St. Francis Medical Centre and of course St. Loman's. The national schools include St. Mary's, St. Colman's and a Church of Ireland school.
The modern treatment plant is rated to be one of the most modern in the country, there is a good water supply and an improving selection of hotels. Plans are afoot to construct another state-of-the-art hotel on the eastern side of the town. Westmeath is known as the lake county, and in and around Mullingar there are no fewer than three major lakes, one of whom – Lough Owel – provides the water supply. Thanks to the enterprise of my colleagues on the council and the county secretary Ciaran McGrath and others, the Mullingar Integrated Arts Centre has been established, providing on outlet for young people with an interest in the arts, including the visual arts.
There are many reasons why Mullingar should be considered by the Minister. The people have waited long enough for decentralisation, and it is now their turn. I could expand further but it would be a great day's work and a shot in the arm for Mullingar if this facility was granted. There were a couple of factory closures in Mullingar over the past few years, including the Tarkett factory which closed with a loss of 140 to 150 jobs. This was replaced by Oxford Health Plans, which closed recently. It would be good news for the people of Mullingar, for the service that Mullingar provides for the people of County Westmeath and north Westmeath in general if decentralisation was granted. Many Members of the Opposition have called for this, but when they were in Government they did not do anything. I hope the Minister will break the cycle of non-activity and approve the decentralisation of a Government Department to Mullingar. I look forward to his response.
