Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 3 June 2004
3 Dr. Cowley asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if he will consider the institution of a special Government scheme to ensure the better development of the north and western half of County Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17110/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraI introduced the CLÁR programme in October 2001 to address depopulation as well as the decline and lack of services in rural areas. An Agreed Programme for Government contained a commitment to annual funding for the CLÁR programme and to consider additional areas for inclusion in light of the 2002 population census data. The Government decided on the additional areas for inclusion in the CLÁR programme and I announced these on 17 January 2003. Areas in 18 counties are now included in the programme and there are no plans for any further review of the boundary of CLÁR areas.
Of the 152 district electoral divisions in County Mayo, 104 are now included in the CLÁR programme with the majority of these in the northern, western and southern parts of the county. Five Leader groups operate in County Mayo as follows: Comhar Iorrais; South-West Mayo; Western Rural Development; Meitheal Forbartha na Gaeltachta; and Comhdháil Oileán na hÉireann. Each of these groups received an allocation of funding under the programme in July 2001 for the period of the programme to the end of 2006 totalling €9,960,700 to support bottom-up initiatives on economic and social development in the Mayo area. The new rural social scheme, which I recently launched, will provide much-needed support for low-income farmers in counties such as Mayo with relatively high numbers of farmers in the farm assist scheme. Special assistance is available under the Gaeltacht and islands schemes in parts of the north and west of the country.
In the circumstances, I believe the above schemes are appropriate and effective in terms of their objectives in helping rural communities.
I thank the Minister for his reply. It is obvious that Mayo has been divided into two areas, with the north and west of the county in crisis due to a declining population. The last census shows that 40% of the county's land area, the north and the west, has only 20% of its population. It is the only region in the State which is in demographic crisis. If this continues the north and west of Mayo, from Killala to Newport, will be entirely deserted by the end of the century. Professor Séamus Caulfield has authenticated this, based on census figures. There has been a net loss of 1,109 people in the six years since the last census from a population of 2,765. In 16 years, north and west Mayo have lost 3,650 people from a population of 5,306 whereas the population of the south and east of the county has risen. There are two Mayos and urgent action is necessary.
CLÁR is a very good programme but it is underfunded. We need a special tax incentive scheme. CLÁR is not going to help the hotels which have closed. In Achill alone, the Sliabh Mór and Atlantic hotels, Boley House, the Abu Teanga and the Atoka restaurants and scores of bed and breakfasts have closed. CLÁR will not address this problem. There is a need for a proper tax incentive scheme because this area is in crisis.
A hotel in County Mayo incurs the same costs as a hotel in O'Connell Street in Dublin. Insurance costs have quadrupled in the past few years. Hotels in County Mayo have greater heating costs because Mayo has a damper climate, although it is a beautiful place. These hotels have a short four to six week holiday period.
A special case must be made for the north-west Mayo area. Otherwise the population will disappear. The census figures show it to be the most economically deprived area in Ireland. Will the Minister consider a tax incentive scheme for north-west Mayo? The area needs it. Otherwise the people will no longer be there.
It would have been more appropriate for the Deputy to submit a question about a tax incentive scheme to the Minister for Finance. I do not have the power to introduce tax incentive schemes.
The CLÁR programme is dealing incisively with the problem of depopulation in Mayo. East Mayo has also suffered continuous population decline. The CLÁR programme takes the growing areas of Ballina, Westport, Castlebar and south Mayo, which is growing because of Galway's influence, out of County Mayo and concentrates on those areas which are losing population. The population of the new, expanded CLÁR areas was 54,726 in 1996 and had declined to 54,264 in 2002. This is a lower rate of decline than previously.
Tax incentive schemes are a matter for the Minister for Finance and I will be discussing the issue with him. Tax incentives are not the panacea for all ills. The holiday resort tax incentive scheme was given to the Achill area. Considering the cost of the scheme to the Exchequer, because tax foregone is the equivalent of money spent, I have serious doubts about its long-term effect in Achill. It brought mobile finance and plenty of building owned by outsiders but did not leave much money in the area.
There is a plan to build a very large hotel in Belmullet, which shows that it is not all doom and gloom.
4 Mr. Crawford asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the reason the new rural social scheme has been introduced on a pilot basis to only eight out of 38 areas eligible for this scheme; if officials from the Department of Social and Family Affairs will be responsible for paying participants on the scheme; and the way in which he envisages this scheme will function as a supplementary source of income for farmers, in view of the fact that participants have no guarantee of employment after 12 months and with each scheme only being given a three-year commitment. [16976/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraI launched the rural social scheme on 17 May 2004. The scheme will be delivered at a local level by the Leader groups, and in the Gaeltacht by the Leader groups in conjunction with Údarás na Gaeltachta. In order to ensure the smooth operation of the scheme, the implementation of the scheme is being phased in and the following eight groups were selected for the first phase: Arigna Catchment Area Community Development, covering north Roscommon and all of County Leitrim; Cavan/Monaghan Rural Development; IRD. Duhallow, covering north-west Cork and part of east Kerry; Galway Rural Development; Inishowen Rural Development; South-West Mayo Development; MFG/Údarás na Gaeltachta; and WORD in Wexford.
I expect the scheme will be made available in the remaining 27 Leader areas over the next two months and this phasing approach has been broadly welcomed by Leader groups.
It is intended that payments to participants on the scheme will generally be made by Area Development Management Limited on behalf of the Leader companies. It is anticipated that the involvement of the Department of Social and Family Affairs in direct payments, if required for technical reasons, may only arise in very limited cases.
The scheme will act as a supplementary source of income for farmers and fishermen who are allocated places on the scheme. Participants will initially go on the scheme for one year but this can be extended. In the event that there is greater demand than places available at the end of the first year, priority will be given to new entrants. However, those who have completed their one-year period of participation on the scheme can re-apply the following year when the same conditions will apply.
I welcome the scheme. However, it was announced on 3 December last and was re-announced on 17 May. The scheme has been re-announced for election purposes. I have checked with some of the chosen groups and they tell me they will not be in a position to discuss matters with potential participants for a number of weeks. To suggest all the schemes will be up and running in two months is an exaggeration. Will the Minister indicate when people are likely to become involved in the schemes?
I previously raised the matter of the involvement of a number of groups in this scheme. As I understand it, the new system is to be administered at Leader level. However, ADM is responsible for making payment to the workers. Why did the Minister not secure the agreement of the Department of Social and Family Affairs to use current structures for the making of such payments? Is there a difficulty within the organisations involved? The Cabinet is supposed to deal with such matters. Will the Minister explain why the Department of Social and Family Affairs will not involve itself in this scheme? Why is there not one overseer, such as FÁS, to deal with these matters?
Roll-out of the scheme was delayed, in part, by our consideration of the involvement of the Department of Social and Family Affairs in the making of such payments. The difficulty which arises is that that Department is responsible for social welfare payments which, I am sure the Deputy is aware, are strict payments. What is involved in this scheme are payroll payments including normal deductions and so on. In that regard what was needed was a structure similar to that available to all Departments, including the Department of Social and Family Affairs, in terms of its staff but not as regards payments to clients. We had to consider organisations which had experience in payroll payments.
We then considered the possibility of each Leader company undertaking its own payroll but some had more experience in that regard than others. To ensure there were no difficulties in that regard, we felt it was simpler to give one company with a good computer programme responsibility for all payments. However, matters such as time sheets and the feeding of information will be done through the Leader companies.
The Deputy also asked why we did not use FÁS, rather than the Leader companies, as the intermediary agency? FÁS is involved in training. I wish to make it clear that this is not a training scheme, it is a work scheme. It would, therefore, have been inappropriate to use FÁS as the organiser on the ground. The Deputy also asked about roll-out. I understand that five Leader companies will this week place advertisements seeking applications in that regard. There is enormous interest in the scheme. Leader should have completed its interview and selection process by the end June or first week in July.
The remainder of the Leader companies will get involved when they are ready, an issue which we discussed with Comdháil Oilean na hÉireann which felt not all companies were ready at this stage. As soon as they are organisationally ready they will roll-out the scheme. I expect that first participants will commence working, allowing for recruitment and so on, in the last week of June or first week of July with other participants joining some two months later.
The time allowed for this question has expired. In fairness to other Deputies I must apply the same system to all.
I congratulate the Minister on ensuring the advertisements will be placed next week. However, I am not suggesting FÁS should run the scheme but that it should be involved in co-ordination of it to ensure there is no duplication.
I accept the Deputy's point.
