We’ve had “Bertie’s Bowl” and now “Varadkar’s Valhalla!”

I arrived in Ireland, some sixteen years ago, having driven a lorry containing ALL our family’s worldly belongings from Larne to Waterford City. It was a mammoth, long, weary journey at the time. There was little or no motorway infrastructure and in truth there were crappy roads everywhere, from the North to the South.

Our very small Scottish convoy, which constituted a rented 7.5 tonne truck and my Escort estate car, was stopped just across the border. This, I recall, put the fear of god into me and here’s why. In the back of my car, my air rifle was hidden inside my golf bag! I was well aware that an air rifle was illegal in Ireland, so to hide mine, I somehow thought making it look like a golf club was a good idea. Luckily the Garda only asked where we were going and once I explained that I was moving from Scotland to Waterford, he waved us on. The air rifle quickly left the Garland household once we settled in the City.

Thankfully, we have now seen major changes to the road infrastructure. The difficulties in accessing the South East corner, which took me from memory around 9 hours to get to in 2001, have been resolved. Belfast can be reached in less than 4 hours. Better still, you can actually drive from Belfast to Waterford without being stopped at a traffic light. Whilst the speed of change has been more walking pace than meteoric, there has been progress in opening up this wee sunny corner of this green isle.

When I settled in Waterford there was great talk and discussion about Waterford being THE “Gateway City” for the South East region. It would be developed to become the economic powerhouse of the region. Securing and attracting inward foreign investment, which would bring huge numbers of well paid jobs to everyone living in the “Sunny South East”. We would have a regional hospital with all the bells and whistles. A regional airport servicing the UK and the Western fringes of Europe. A university to rival those of Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway.

Scroll forward sixteen years and Government after Government have abjectly failed to deliver any regional development. Both the South East and North West have been principally ignored, by the very bodies that should be concentrating on promoting these disadvantaged areas. But the Irish way seems to be to ignore these problem children, sitting so far away from the epicentre of power.

The IDA’s own figures reveal a damming indictment on just how far Waterford has fallen off the table, in terms of “Promotional visits”. We are told that Waterford and the South East cannot be pushed ahead of the other regions. In fact our region cannot be promoted or receive special attention – as that would just be unfair! So, with the other regions flourishing, they're becoming an irresistible draw for yet more and  more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), at a significant cost to the struggling NW and SE.

Our current Government recently launched the National Planning Framework, amid much pomp, ceremony and PR spin. A highlight for Waterford was Minister Coveney’s promise to double the City’s population. Yet, almost the very next day he rejected a report’s recommendations to extend the City’s boundary North across the River Suir. Talk about flip flopping, this party has it down to a T.

So, the very latest Government idea, to help a “Struggling Dublin?” with its booming economy once again, is to consider building a new City for Ireland in the Midlands region!!!!

Just where is the sense in such a stupid, ridiculous idea?

Our two struggling regions are crying out for Government investment. They are ready for regional investment and yet may once again be overlooked.

Are we really prepared to accept one more political folly after another? Who remembers Bertie’s Bowl? Now, after only a few wet weeks in office, we are planning to build Varadkar’s Valhalla. Why do our leaders feel the need to build their own Guggenheims? To be immortalised when they depart the political arena?

Surely, delivering an equitable, fair and reasonable regional development policy is a better legacy than one more Guggenheim?

What if Simon says “No!”

We have already seen the appalling decision made by a certain Simon H to conveniently disregard the highly respected Higgins report on University Hospital Waterford (UHW), in favour of his own Government’s Herity Report. A Report, which we were told, if the readers can recall, was merely a formality. It was a very simple matter of ticking a few boxes, crossing some “T’s” and dotting a number of “I’s”. This would confirm what we already knew. That a second Catheterisation Laboratory for UHW should in fact be delivered, funded and built, ASAP.

But, we now know that we were sold a pup.

The second lab would not be forthcoming and to appease those Deise hordes, it was announced in Dublin, that a mobile unit would be diverted down the M9, to UHW and used to take up the “Slack”. Unfortunately, this mobile unit cannot, at the moment, seem to find its way to Waterford. To add insult to injury, this unit would be “Shared” with other just as needy regions. A big kick in the teeth to us on this matter, from Simon H!

But there would be light at the end of our dark tunnel.

We could, in the short term, forget not securing a second Catheterisation Laboratory, as good news was in fact, just around the corner. Waterford in recent weeks, has bounced back, in a big way. Wonderful, joyous and fantastic news that a €300,000,000 development of the City’s North Quays, would categorically take place, with investment of many, many Middle Eastern Riyal. In fact we would get TWO retail centres built for the price of one – happy days are ahead.

This news, in conjunction with the 2040 National Planning Framework, announced by Minister Simon C, would see accelerated development of our Strategic Development Zone (SDZ), to help double the City’s population. At last we could collectively take a breath and it now looked like Government was listening to the people of Waterford. They were actually going to put their hand in their collective pockets, to find some much needed fiscal money, to feed our economy.

Just like London buses, a third piece of good news landed on our doorstep. That hotel on the hill had finally been sold. The promise of a five star development, garden rooftop bars, largest function suite in Waterford, conference space....the list was endless.

Were we finally beginning to turn the corner? Waterford was surely on the up, or are we?

Amid much whooping and hollering we have to remember that to develop our North Quay’s SDZ we need Government money. Some say €50 million, but in Ireland that probably means that what is needed could well be in excess of €60 million, possibly €70 million. This loosening of the exchequer purse strings will not be easy. It will not be without its challenges and rest assured the political “Flat cap” clout from other regions will be doing their very, very best to divert this money elsewhere.

The bottom line is, that unless this money for the earmarked infrastructural work in our SDZ is not signed, sealed and delivered by Government. Where is this money to come from?

Waterford Council certainly do not have the funds, or the means to allocate anywhere near this level of funding. I suspect that our nearest neighbours in Kilkenny and Wexford will not be too much help either? So we are once again relying on a Government whose track record in supporting Waterford INC is to say the very least sketchy.

We have recently had one Simon saying “Yes” and one Simon saying “No”. A bit like that game we used to play as kids. An outcome completely randomly based on chance. 

Does Simon C really want Waterford City to stand any chance of doubling its population, for the betterment of the whole of the South East? Will he really get Old Father Time (Noonan), to open his dusty wallet and find €50/ €60/€70 million for this City?

The very recent delivery record for Waterford has been extremely poor. The onus is on our Junior Minister, 3 TDs and 2 Senators to now earn their stripes.