Brian Brennan: Calls for Social Investment in Arklow
Brian Brennan addressed the Minister to demand that the 2021-2025 development programme reverse the drift of young people to Dublin by investing in towns and villages. He highlighted Arklow as a case study where billions in private and infrastructure investment must be matched with social capital such as community centres, theatres and parks.
Policy context: Brennan frames his remarks within the 2021-2025 programme, welcoming planned development spending while warning that new investment will fail communities unless accompanied by social infrastructure. He asks that towns previously ignored be prioritised alongside capital works.
Arklow's revival: Brennan cites Arklow’s incoming 3.6 billion data centre, approximately 50 offshore wind turbines, and an expected greenway as signs of a local economic upturn. He warns that without matching public investment the benefits will be hollow for residents.
Social infrastructure gaps: Using Arklow as an example, Brennan describes the town’s lack of a theatre, community centre and town park. He explains how that absence undermines local life, denies cultural venues and leaves residents forced to travel for simple community events.
Consequences and demands: Brennan emphasises the human costs - young people spending 26 hours a week commuting to Dublin, pressure on mental health, extra expense and higher carbon emissions - and asks the Minister to target funding to towns that have been ignored for decades.
Policy context: Brennan frames his remarks within the 2021-2025 programme, welcoming planned development spending while warning that new investment will fail communities unless accompanied by social infrastructure. He asks that towns previously ignored be prioritised alongside capital works.
Arklow's revival: Brennan cites Arklow’s incoming 3.6 billion data centre, approximately 50 offshore wind turbines, and an expected greenway as signs of a local economic upturn. He warns that without matching public investment the benefits will be hollow for residents.
Social infrastructure gaps: Using Arklow as an example, Brennan describes the town’s lack of a theatre, community centre and town park. He explains how that absence undermines local life, denies cultural venues and leaves residents forced to travel for simple community events.
Consequences and demands: Brennan emphasises the human costs - young people spending 26 hours a week commuting to Dublin, pressure on mental health, extra expense and higher carbon emissions - and asks the Minister to target funding to towns that have been ignored for decades.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Other speeches
Tego samego dnia All speeches from this day →
Rose Conway-Walsh
Rose Conway-Walsh: Wake-up Call on Meta Job Cuts and AI Risk
Michael Collins
Michael Collins: Why the May 20 Registration Deadline Is Unclear
Ivana Bacik
Ivana Bacik: Demand for a Coherent Mini-Budget to Help Families
Johnny Guirke
Johnny Guirke: Demand for Legal Collective Bargaining Now
Conor D McGuinness
Conor D McGuinness: Government Siding with Bosses, Not Workers
Richard Boyd Barrett
Richard Boyd Barrett: 'Show Trial' for Irish Protester in Germany
Transcript
Thank you Chair, Minister. I note the programme in 2021-2025 that there was a clear call to reverse that young people moving to the city. People living and working in their own towns and villages, that's what we should be working for. I welcome the billions that are probably going to be spent on our new development plan, I welcome the engagement tonight, but when you see young people spending 26 hours a week in a car driving from the south east up to Dublin, that is so frustrating. It's hitting their mental health, the cost of it and their carbon footprint. So I encourage and I welcome the proposals going forward. But also Minister, I'd ask you to please, if you could look at the towns and villages that have not been supported previously. I can give you now an example of a town of Arklow. Now I know there is five or six Arklows in Ireland. Towns and villages that were simply ignored. You look at Arklow, Arklow was the home of IFI, it was the home of a great port, it was the home of Arklow Pottery. And then over 30 years due to lack of investment, it slowly and slowly declined. But now Arklow is on the crest of a wave. There's a 3.6 billion data centre plant. There's approximately 50 windmills offshore plant. They're in line for a greenway, we discussed in this room before. There's continual investment, we're expecting thousands of houses. But what we need to see is investment in the social infrastructure in that town. That town has no theatre. If you want a concert in Arklow tonight, you either go to the hotel, you go to a church or you go to the school. It has no community centre. I visited tiny villages in Wexford and Wicklow and I've seen fabulous community centres. But for whatever reason, a town of 14,000 people still does not have a community centre and there's a building there that's waiting to be taken on. It just needs work and it needs investment. Like Arklow has no town park. The home of Ronnie Delaney, where he was born in Ardamersgillam. Mary Hickey, the only woman to run around Ireland. Both born and reared in Arklow and it hasn't got a town park to show for it. So I'm calling that the social infrastructure and the capital infrastructure, such as bridges and roads, are matched with this expected boom in the town. Because it needs the support. As I say, Arklow is not on its own. There's plenty of Arklows out there that have been ignored for decades.