Rural Schemes
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-26
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Liam Quaide (SD), Cork East

Under the current disjointed system, families are having to spend years campaigning for basic amenities. They are being forced to become fundraisers, social entrepreneurs and project managers trying to patch together one disconnected grant after another while their town or village expands around them, and their children often outgrow the project before it is finally delivered, as in the case of playgrounds. That is not a serious way to provide basic amenities. Like so much about public service delivery, it is not fair, strategic or timely. These amenities need to be planned as part of the development of a town or village.
In towns like Midleton and Carrigtohill, housing and population are growing quickly but local provision is lagging far behind. Does the Minister of State accept that the stop-start piecemeal approach is not working? Will he commit to a clearer, fairer system - a more integrated way of funding in order that when population growth is projected, the amenities needed for community life are planned in line with it and not dependent on the remarkable innovation and drive of particular community groups?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:47+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-26