With much pomp and ceremony, the
National Development Plan (NDP) was unveiled last Friday. Launched in Sligo,
after an out of town cabinet meeting, in front of the usual media suspects.
Leo’s future plans for the Island of Ireland, would be the defining document of
his first term in office, his Guggenheim.
It certainly is a meaty document,
running to over 100 pages. Available to download from official and unofficial
sources. I managed to download my copy from www.per.gov.ie and a quick
scan through all 109 pages, had me thinking “Just what’s in there for
Waterford?”
Social media, national and local press,
captured the main headlines surrounding Waterford’s biggest game changer in
years. The North Quays’ regeneration, our
Having furiously searched my downloaded
PDF, I eventually found the reference to our first ever Strategic Development
Zone. Low and behold there it was, buried in the bottom right hand corner of
page 36. No wee emojis of clapping hands or smiling faces. Just one bullet
point mentioning “The Waterford North Quays SDZ regeneration project”.
In truth, I was all excited. Surely it
was not too much to expect to see in print, reference to the sixty million we
have been waiting for, far, far too long now? Alas, there was no mention of
this money. So I back tracked and read the paragraph that preceded the bullet
points.
The money Waterford needs so
desperately, would be part of a “New Regeneration and Development Fund
Initiative”. There it was as clear as day. “There are a number of examples of
urban redevelopment projects that are already in train and that have the
potential to benefit from the new Fund, for example:....”
“Potential to benefit” are the very
words that jump out at you. Clearly implying that Waterford has an opportunity
to profit from this Fund. It does not categorically state that Waterford will
get its justifiable millions.
It looks like there are a few more
hoops and rings to jump through. There will no doubt be all manner of checks
and balances to take place, before taxpayers’ money is spent. Now, that’s a
very good thing. Government must ensure that projects are worthwhile,
justifiable and will show a significant return on investment. Confirmation
before Pascal is allowed to loosen his purse strings. Due diligence has to take
place, to guarantee the Irish public are getting value for money.
I have to confess that along with many
others, I thought that the NDP was now merely a formality, before the BIG
announcement. I was sure that we had already crossed and dotted far too many t’s
and i’s. Alas, it now appears that we will have to wait a wee bit longer before
this project reaches the finishing line. Others are also suggesting that more
has to be done, before the starting gun is fired and the builders move in.
We have been told that the private
investment, to support the North Quays is upwards of €300,000,000. That, on
anyone’s abacus, gives a massive economic impact, for a relatively small
Government outlay. With this in mind, you can’t help but wonder why the NDP was
not more committed in supporting Waterford’s SDZ?
I do hope that it is only a matter of
weeks and NOT months, before the announcement of funding is orchestrated. When
this day does arrive, I wonder just how many will be claiming the credit?
Reading more of the NDP, it is
difficult to comprehend why Waterford features so infrequently. The very City
that has been earmarked to double its population, gets significantly fewer
mentions than many others. In fact, outside of the North Quays, the Technological
University carrot or stick and some possible airport funding, there’s not a
great deal to shout about. You have to wonder just what was Waterford Inc’s,
input into this book of “Ifs, buts and maybes”.
Maybe I am getting sceptical in my old
age? Or maybe, just maybe, my pragmatic Scottish genes, dislike circumvention.
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