5. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the measures in place to ensure equitable distribution of funding across regions, including areas experiencing rapid population growth; and whether any formal methodology is used to align funding allocations with demographic need. [23002/26]

Sentiment score: 0.21

How can the Minister of State ensure that funding from his Department is shared fairly across regions, especially in areas of major population growth? Is there any clear formula for matching that funding to population growth? I ask this with particular reference to Midleton and Carrigtwohill where major population increases are projected over the next decade, but where local amenities are plainly not keeping pace. By 2034, the population of Midleton is expected to grow by 100% from where it was in 2022, while the estimate for Carrigtohill is in the region of 172% in that 12 years. That is a doubling and almost tripling of the population of those two towns.

Sentiment score: 0.28

What people see in towns like Midleton and Carrigtohill is residential development moving ahead much faster than amenity provision. New houses are being built at pace and more families are moving in, but the facilities which are core to community life are lagging badly behind. There is a sense that many families describe of being in a town that is thriving but impoverished in respect of the most basic communities that matter families on a daily basis, such as youth facilities, playgrounds and skate parks. Does the Minister of State accept that if funding is not systematically matched to population growth this is exactly what happens? We get housing estate after housing estate but not the facilities needed to build a connected community. We get long, frustrating drives to other towns or even villages to have basic community needs met. In Midleton, for instance, we drive to Mogeely to use the playground. Can the Minister of State say his Department has any clear way of matching funding to population growth so that we have a predictable, systematic spread of amenities or will our towns and villages still be left to fend for themselves through piecemeal schemes?

Sentiment score: 0.13

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?

Sentiment score: 0.12