| While Senator
Taylor-Quinn said the introduction of the seaside resort
scheme was not a good idea, I believe it was a fantastic
idea. Such a scheme was badly needed to upgrade many
seaside resorts that depend on income accrued during a
season that lasts four to five weeks. Many of the people
living in the seaside resorts selected may not have been
prepared for the introduction of the scheme and much of
the infrastructure that was needed to upgrade the
resorts, such as swimming pools and other facilities,
were not provided. Those with extra money who could
afford to invest in such resorts were able to avail of
the tax incentives under that scheme. Their families and
a large influx of other people have moved to live in such
seaside resorts, which has resulted in an increase in the
units of accommodation in such resorts. I strongly
believe that scheme should have been expanded to enable
people who were not in a position to benefit from its
introduction, or people who applied for planning
permission for the building of new apartments in old
style resorts to which neighbours objected because they
were not use to such developments, to benefit from it. People who applied for
and were granted planning permission for developments at
that time - many such decisions were appealed to An Bord
Pleanála which resulted in permissions being delayed for
another six or 12 months - have slipped through the net.
I am aware of four to five sites in Ballybunion that are
derelict and awaiting approval for development, but I am
not sure if such developments will proceed as they may
not qualify under section 23. Access to the
considerations on such development proposals should be
open to the investors.
Under this Bill
the Minister of State should consider favourably
proposals on decentralisation. The decentralisation of
public service personnel to rural areas would bring back
life to small towns.
Ten towns in
Kerry would qualify under the criteria for eligibility
for this renewal scheme, which stipulates that a town
must have between 600 people and 5,000 or 6,000. Kerry
County Council has submitted an application to the
Minister of State's Department for four such towns in
Kerry, two in my constituency of north Kerry,
Castleisland and Listowel, one of which has a population
of 3,000 and the other has a population of 2,000. Rather
than submitting applications for the ten towns that meet
the criteria of this scheme, Kerry County Council
selected these towns carefully on the basis of the need
to develop the centre of those towns. I hope the
applications will be successful.
Other speakers
referred to bypasses and it is important there should be
bypasses around towns of this size. They may create a
false impression of a town being busy and there are
traffic jams with people trying to get to and from work.
However, bypasses are necessary and it has been proven
where roads have been built bypassing towns that the
towns can remain viable once the necessary infrastructure
is provided.
The development
of small towns will involve the upgrading of derelict
buildings and other facilities in the centre of such
towns. Given that the necessary water and sewerage
systems and road infrastructure are in place in such
towns, all that is needed is a movement of people from
urban areas to live there. Such a movement of people
would result in a decrease in the number of people on the
local authority housing waiting lists and people could
not live in a better place that in our towns where they
would be near churches and schools. Such an influx of
people would increase the level of activity in our towns
and bring back life to them.
I welcome the
Bill and congratulate the Minister of State on
introducing it. I hope this scheme will continue in
operation and that not only the towns selected will be
approved but that the scheme will be expanded by way of
introducing further incentives for development in such
towns and further incentives will be introduced to
develop our smaller towns. I would like the scope of the
scheme to be expanded to include towns with populations
ranging from 600 to 800, of which there are many in
County Kerry. My village has a population of 610 and I
would welcome the development of the centre of the
village.
Through an
initiative introduced by the Minister of State, my local
community is organising the provision of social houses
for elderly people living in poor housing conditions in
rural parts of the county who wish to move into the
village where they will be near churches, schools and
shops and the local community can look out for them. That
is what rural life and the provisions of this Bill are
all about. If we continue in this direction, we will
bring life back to rural Ireland, which is badly needed.
I commend the Bill to the House.
Ms Ormonde: I
welcome the Minister of State to the House and the
opportunity to contribute to the Bill. While other
speakers were contributing, I thought back to my youth
when I identified with a quality of life that was rural
and village based. Many of those who were not brought up
in such an environment have missed out a good deal.
As I passed
through many towns and villages on my Seanad election
trail, I was shocked by the number of derelict sites in
many of our towns. Many shops, schools, barracks and GAA
clubs were closed in many of the towns, which now face
the threatened closure of post offices, as many people
moved from rural areas to urban areas in the 1980s and
early 1990s when there was economic gloom. At that time
many people who would have preferred to stay in their own
environment had to leave their towns and villages and
move to bigger towns and cities to get work to enable
them to have the lifestyle they desired.
I am delighted
to have the opportunity to speak on this Bill. The
implementation of its provisions will restore some of the
backbone of rural Ireland. It will stop it from being
swallowed up in the large urban sprawl in our cities,
which are top heavy with houses, infrastructure, cars,
congestion and other negative factors of urban life. The
reverse of that is to be found in rural Ireland where
there are not the required level of facilities to create
a proper balance in society. It is great that the
Government is prepared to distribute the benefits secured
under our Celtic tiger economy throughout the country and
to open up a new life to people who want to live in the
country and do not want to be caught up in the way of
life in Dublin and our other major cities.
If rural areas
can be opened up through the development of our towns and
villages, it is to be welcomed. It would bring a new
lease of life to them and create a fabric of community
life. It will result in the opening up of schools that
have been closed. It will also result in the opening up
of shops rather than supermarkets and the building of an
integrated community within towns rather than having
people scattered in the surrounding areas.
If we can move
in this direction, it will lead to a decrease in house
prices and create a balance in the housing market, as
there are many fine old houses throughout the country
that are derelict. There are very nice shopfronts in our
towns that need to be refurbished and restored in the old
style and they will reflect the Ireland of yesterday and
tomorrow.
This measure
will bring about the necessary decentralisation. There
are many young boys and girls who have completed their
education and cannot get a job down the country because
none is available. If activity was regenerated in the
towns and villages it would create a community
infrastructure and an integrated community which would
attract the business community into the towns and
villages to create industrial parks and the necessary
jobs.
There is also
the question of shifting local authorities and the Civil
Service to town and villages. The sooner that can be done
the better. This Bill will create the infrastructure to
move quickly into that whole area. People in Naas,
Portlaoise, Portarlington and Navan commute to Dublin
daily and there is a huge tailback of cars to and from
Dublin every morning and evening. That way of life will
have to stop. The infrastructure needed to create the
jobs will have to be provided to allow people to live in
their own communities rather than being compelled to move
to the bigger cities for work purposes.
Everything I
have to say is positive. The question is how best can
county councils and local government get involved in the
implementation of this new strategy. I am concerned
because in any new development scheme there must be
action plans for the area and there must be consultation
with developers and residents' associations. There is a
need also for staff resources which is the major
impediment to the implementation of this new strategy. I
know from experience in dealing with my own council that
there is a lack of planning and back-up staff but without
the necessary staff, the process will be delayed.
In regard to
the implementation of the Bill I would like to think we
have the resources to build the physical and cultural
environment, to protect our heritage and the
infrastructure already in existence and to bring about a
way forward without opposition from those in situ.
A new plan for an area is often stalled due to lack of
consultation or preparation. That is a weakness in the
Bill. I hope the county councils will have the
wherewithal to implement this new concept. That is the
future of Ireland and the balance we must seek to bring
about, otherwise there will be a top heavy city way of
life and we will forget our rural areas and that a good
quality of life comes from an integrated community of
shops, schools, cinema, debating societies and the
various clubs, be it bridge clubs, GAA clubs or soccer
clubs. All these must be part of life of the future. That
is the way forward. That is my vision of the future. I do
not want a top heavy city way of life as I have seen
develop in the past ten years where people spend two and
a half hours in their cars morning and evening getting to
and from work. That is not a way of life I would like for
the younger generation. I want it as it was in the past
where people were brought up in their own area, their
lives were not dictated by the car. It was not a case of
unless we had a car we did not have a life. I would like
to think we can have everything, but in our own
community.
This Bill is a
way forward to implementing my vision of the future.
Mr. Bonner:
I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Molloy, and
compliment him on the great work he has done since
becoming Minister of State at the Department of the
Environment and Local Government particularly in respect
of all the housing areas for which he has responsibility.
I congratulate him also on the introduction of this Bill
which I welcome. I wish to refer to one or two items in
the Bill which can be improved on. However my comments
are not meant as a criticism.
The Bill
provides for the possibility of physical renewal for
smaller towns with a population of from 500 to 6,000.
This has come about due to the extension of the urban
renewal and seaside resort renewal schemes implemented
earlier. There were a number of towns which did not
qualify in the last round of urban renewals, two of which
are in my county - Ballybofey and Ballyshannon. This
scheme is introduced to make up for those which were not
sufficiently large to qualify for urban renewal. A
substantial amount of groundwork has gone into the
scheme. Even though the Bill has only been introduced
today it was announced last year. Councils were supposed
to submit their town renewal plans before October but
this was extended to December. I know from my
conversations with the Minister, Deputy Dempsey, that
most of the local authorities put substantial effort into
setting up town renewal plans. However, there were one or
two blips. Council officials examined all the towns
listed as qualifying and checked the core area of the
pre-1942 areas of those towns.
The purpose of
the Bill is to revitalise smaller towns. Many small towns
have suffered from the enlargement and development of
some provincial towns. For example, in Donegal,
Letterkenny has expanded beyond everybody's wishes and is
one of the largest growing provincial towns in Europe.
However, the downside is that many of the small towns in
the county suffered. There were huge developments in
Senator Quinn's business in supermarkets in that all the
major supermarkets are based in Letterkenny with the
result that all the small towns suffer.
The scheme has
been extended, based on the urban renewal scheme. While
the urban renewal scheme had some pitfalls it revitalised
some of the large provincial towns which had many
derelict buildings and had become rundown. The biggest
difficulty I had with the previous scheme was that many
of the developments were of a similar nature. Many of
these areas have become concrete jungles because little
planning and design went into the actual development. The
aim of the scheme is to preserve and restore the unique
features of smaller towns. Hopefully, there will not be
the same type of development as occurred in urban renewal
areas.
I have another
objection which will surprise many people, given that I
am a practising accountant and tax consultant. Many of
the tax reliefs in the urban renewal scheme went to
outside developers and investors. I hope that local
people and small businesses will benefit from the tax
relief under this scheme. I have no wish to see
properties being bought up by developers and speculators.
Some of the residential incentives are framed in such a
way that greater relief is available for owner occupation
than for providing rented occupation.
I welcome the
speed with which the Bill has been brought before the
House. Basically, we are legislating retrospectively for
the groundwork which has already been carried out by the
local authorities. However, there are flaws which should
be mentioned. The Bill treats all counties equally,
regardless of the deprivation and dilapidation of some
areas, particularly counties in the west, caused by
emigration and lack of investment. Low profits are
generated by local business people because of larger
multiple stores locating in nearby provincial centres.
Towns in
Leinster, particularly those close to Dublin, get the
same reliefs under the Bill as towns in the west of
Ireland and in rural areas. The scheme is based on the
town's population and every county can submit its
proposals. Every county, therefore, is given an
opportunity under the scheme. The scheme will assist
housing provision in towns located close to large
population centres in Leinster and, for example, in the
Minister's constituency in County Galway, although it is
not a complete solution to our housing difficulties. The
housing problem is not as great in rural areas.
My difficulty
with the scheme is that County Donegal had 22 qualifying
towns but was allowed under the criteria to submit only
five of the towns for selection by the forward planning
division of the council. Many towns in west Donegal were
not included. Many of them are suffering a second time.
Donegal was isolated from the rest of the country for
many years due to the troubles in Northern Ireland. The
county is connected to the Republic only by a three mile
wide corridor in the Sligo-Leitrim area. As a result the
west of Donegal has suffered tremendously.
There has been
great regeneration in the east of the county owing to its
closeness to the Border. It has benefited from the
various cross-Border schemes such as IFI and the Peace
and Reconciliation Fund. The rest of the county has
gained through the initiative of Donegal County Council
in setting up its own development fund and being able to
draw funding from IFI and cross-Border groups to
facilitate village renewal schemes. These have
regenerated the appearance of the county's towns but have
done little for employment or business opportunities. My
constituency suffered because towns in the east of the
county gained most from cross-Border funding.
Council staff
in County Donegal were quick to go through every town in
the county, drawing up reports and renewal plans. The
difficulty was that the speed with which they were
expected to deliver the material to the Department meant
that much of the initial examination was done by sight.
It was impossible to spend more than a day in each town.
The towns which appeared prosperous because property
owners tried to maintain their appearance even in
difficult times suffered because they did not appear to
have the same degree of dereliction. In reality, however,
many of the shop fronts were only patched up and what was
behind them was not examined. I have in mind the five
towns in my electoral area which qualify but were not
included in the scheme. They include Dungloe, Glenties,
Gweedore and Falcarragh. The duration of this scheme is
three years but I hope it will be extended and that more
towns, such as the towns I mentioned, can be included.
The Minister
said the designations will be made next month. Is there a
specific date? I spoke to one of the officials in my
county's forward planning office earlier today who
suggested that the date might be 31 July. A number of
people from the towns that will, hopefully, be designated
on the basis of their submissions to the Department have
been in contact with me and they are raring to go. They
feel they are being held back and are anxious to know the
commencement date.
There is a
great deal of dereliction in the town of Ardara. It is
designated a heritage town and attracts many tourists in
the summer season. There is a possibility, however, that
many of the properties which might be designated will not
be able to benefit from the scheme when the time comes
because of financial considerations. On the other hand
there are many properties which were not included, even
though some of them were within the pre-1942 core area of
the town. What are the provisions with regard to them?
Donegal County Council officials have told me they have
no means of redress. They have sent their submission to
the Department. I wrote to the Department and received a
reply that the scheme is based on the designations made
by the county council. Is there any possibility that
where there is no take up in respect of certain
properties, other properties within the designated town
can avail of the scheme?
While initial
work on the scheme was reasonably thorough, the time
element did not allow full structural reports to be
carried out. There are situations where properties were
designated under the renewal plan as suitable for
refurbishment but when the properties were examined in
greater detail it was discovered that structurally it was
not possible to do that. What is the position of those
property owners now? Will they be allowed to demolish the
properties and avail of reliefs based on new construction
rather than refurbishment?
I have raised
the problems of the west of Ireland with the Minister for
Finance, Deputy McCreevy, and particularly the problems
of west Donegal. The tax reliefs and incentives in these
schemes are great for encouraging investment and
refurbishment. The reality, however, is that they do
little to create employment. There is little employment
in rural areas to attract young people and many such
areas in west Donegal are depopulated with only the very
young and elderly people remaining there.
I have asked
the Minister for Finance to consider extending one of the
most successful schemes, the upper Shannon region rural
renewal scheme. While it was slow getting started due to
the delay in securing the agreement of the European
Union, the development that has taken place, particularly
in County Leitrim, is an example of how successful a
scheme can be. I asked the Minister to extend it because
I foresee no chance of securing major inward investment
in west Donegal. The fishing industry is going through
difficult times and the coastal area from Dungloe to
Killybegs relies entirely on it. The textile industries
in areas such as Glencolmcille have collapsed and there
is no sign of alternative employment.
The tourism
industry is one of Donegal's great hopes for the future.
The rural renewal scheme should be extended to west
Donegal to encourage people to invest in property and
tourism infrastructure. Tax reliefs are important because
many small businesses, particularly small family run
hotels, do not have the wherewithal to invest without the
provision of some type of relief. A similar scheme to
that in the upper Shannon region could revitalise the
west Donegal area, particularly with regard to the
tourism industry.
My comments are
not meant to be a criticism of the Bill, which I welcome.
The concept and the incentives provided under the scheme
will do a great deal for the designated towns and,
hopefully, more towns will be designated. I congratulate
the Minister and commend the Bill to the House.
Acting
Chairman (Mr. Mooney): Leitrim will always be pleased
to support its good neighbours in Donegal.
Mr. J.
Cregan: Like the other speakers, I welcome the
Minister to the House and congratulate him and his
officials on this important initiative which will
undoubtedly contribute to the revitalisation of many
small and medium rural towns.
Many important
lessons have been learned from the Government's
experience in tackling the problem of urban decay in our
major cities and larger towns. Many smaller towns have
suffered from the problems of dereliction and the Bill
will enable many small rural centres to regenerate
themselves along the lines that will make a contribution
to rebalancing development in a way that will take the
pressure off the major urban centres. I welcome the
recognition given to smaller towns because they have a
right to the same type of development many major urban
centres enjoyed over the past decade.
The Bill
contains a number of important principles relating to the
physical renewal and revitalisation of towns, the
promotion of towns as cultural, commercial, residential
and social centres, the enhancement of existing
amenities, heritage and environment and the promotion of
sustainable development patterns. County councils have an
important role to play in this regard and I am pleased
that Limerick County Council has taken an active interest
in the scheme. The towns of Castleconnell, Abbeyfeale,
Kilmallock, Croom and Rathkeale have already been
submitted by the council for designation under the
redevelopment incentive package. However, I should point
out that drawing up the submission proved to be most
divisive for a number of reasons which I will outline
briefly. Like my colleague, Senator Bonner, I do not wish
to criticise the Bill, which I welcome. However, it
causes divisiveness when one is asked to make choices in
any county between towns two or three miles apart who
fulfil the qualifying criteria and have engaged
consultants to look at their situation. Naturally, when
it comes to making a decision people will be
disappointed.
Limerick County
Council considered this scheme at length during its
December meeting and the members are very concerned that
the scheme is restricted to five towns. The council was
unanimous in its view that a very strong case could have
been made for all or any of the 17 towns which were
described in the guidelines for the town renewal scheme
as being potentially eligible. I understand fully that we
had to fulfil a certain criteria and we could not submit
all or more of the 17 towns. Limerick is unique in that
it has no town with a population of more than 6,000 and
it has no urban councils or town commissioners. However,
it has many villages and small towns dotted around the
county; therefore, it is easy to understand why people
felt aggrieved that we could not submit more than five
towns.
On receipt of
the circular from the Department, the county manager
arranged for the preparation of plans in respect of ten
towns so that members would have a number of options to
consider in relation to the five towns which could be
submitted ultimately. It built up people's hopes and ten
towns were surveyed and consultants employed. As a result
of the time constraint, it was necessary to employ
different consultants and more than one group of
consultants looked differently at the issues. However, at
the end of the day decisions had to be made. The meeting
decided that, under the terms of the present scheme,
there was an outstanding case for the inclusion of the
towns of Askeaton, Bruff and Caherconlish. A planning
application was lodged recently for an extra 150 houses
in Bruff which would make a huge difference to any
village or small town. As stated previously, plans are
available in respect of these towns and can be obtained
from the Department on request.
Members were
also at a loss as to the application of the population
criteria in 17 towns in County Limerick with potential
eligibility. The issues that concerned them included the
boundaries within which the population statistics were
taken. Examples were given of towns and villages
throughout the county which in reality had populations in
excess of 500 within the town and village and its
immediate hinterland and which had the proven capacity to
rise to the challenges presented by a scheme such as this
and derive considerable benefits for the towns and
villages concerned. Members requested that serious
consideration be given by the Minister, whether in the
context of the current scheme or future schemes, to the
inclusion of the abovementioned towns. I would like at
this stage to compliment our county council staff who did
an excellent job at reasonably short notice. It was
important that they were able to respond for the sake of
the county. Other counties might not have done such a
good job, but that is their business. From my point of
view and from the point of view of County Limerick, I
congratulate all concerned because it was difficult to
have plans prepared and ready on time.
I mentioned
towns with a population of approximately 500 or 600
people which apparently did not qualify for the scheme.
My town of Drumcollogher has had huge public investment
from the Minister's Department, for which I thank him. It
was probably a first in relation to social housing and
won national recognition on two occasions. A scheme such
as this would have brought extra investment, including
private investment, which would have been an advantage
because one would have complemented the other. I look
forward in years to come to seeing that scheme extended
to towns such as Dromcollogher.
It is important
that small towns have an opportunity to build themselves
up as part of our new found prosperity. The Government's
White Paper, A Strategy for Rural Development in Ireland,
published last year provides a coherent strategy to
address the problems of social and economic development
in rural Ireland. It must never be forgotten that just
because a county such as Limerick has a major city within
its boundaries it can also contain many towns and
villages which have yet to benefit from the boom of
recent years. This is important not just in this
situation but in relation to capital investment for other
services such as the Limerick main drainage scheme. In
fairness, this includes part of County Limerick and the
extremities of the city but, by and large, it covers the
city and its environs to the detriment of other towns
which are badly in need of investment in water, sewerage
and so on.
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