Phoenix: There is no excuse for unloved

A recent article in The Irish Times by David McWilliams proposed certain developments for Cork city in order that it might fully attain its potential. 

It’s not necessary to list out Cork’s obvious strengths, like its 194 multinational firms, but a few of Mr McWilliams’ thoughts caught the eye. 

He suggested that parts of Cork are fairly “unloved and a little bit down at heel”. 

Funnily enough the same word ”unloved” was used here last week about parts of Waterford city. 

It probably holds good for all Irish urban areas, even the wealthiest. 

Parts of centre city Dublin are still in a poor state despite the tsunami of investment flooding our capital. 

McWilliams also reported (cue jaw-dropping in Waterford) that 82% of members of Cork Chamber of Commerce believed that their city was “not receiving the necessary investment to achieve targets outlined in Project Ireland 2040”! 

Presumably the €99 million recently announced for the Port of Cork to construct wind farm development facilities at Ringaskiddy assuaged the Cork Chamber of Commerce unease to some extent.

For our own part, it would be hard to believe, in the real world of Waterford commerce, that 100% of our Chamber members are not dissatisfied with the state investment in Waterford to allow this city achieve the targets set out in Ireland 2040. 

I can already hear the siren sounds of North Quays, North Quays, North Quays, as if it’s the summit of our ambitions. One hopes that new Waterford Chamber president Kevin Doolin, head of the Walton Institute at SETU, is more than aware of local deficits. 

There is an undeniable feeling of an economic lift and move around at present in Waterford. Housing construction, low unemployment and traffic volumes reinforce that story. 

There are genuine concerns about footfall in the city centre and it is impossible to understand why some of the major mass market retailers are not represented here. 

Personally, I place no trust in Dublin-based property companies to know enough or indeed anything about Waterford city when retail investment decisions are being made. Dublin disinterest is legendary, but then we have to sell ourselves. 

In fairness to our council, their ongoing assault on derelict and empty property is having a really discernible effect. Incoming council CEO Sean McKeown has also publicly confirmed his determination to end dereliction. There is no excuse for “unloved”!

Anyway, if there are Waterford people in business or elsewhere who are satisfied with our lot and the crumbs (however large) that fall from the government table in this direction, then I can only assume that they are members of the government parties. 

The general economy is lifting, but in the metrics that count for a city nominated as the regional economic driver, in acute tertiary medicine, in third level education and in Foreign Direct Investment, we have some way to go.

It goes without saying that all Cork politicians, and particularly their seniors, understand the importance of third-level education. It’s embedded in their psyche. 

When you have had it for a long period, its benefits are easily appreciated. 

Tánaiste Micheál Martin would probably die for UCC. Cork has 36,000 third-level students, with huge benefits for the local economy. 

You have a similar situation in Limerick who were late to the university table but who now consider UL to be the critical element in the economic renaissance of that city, and in Galway where people will tell you that their university is the basis on which the current prosperity of that city is built. 

The long campaign for university status in Waterford is part of the same rationale, but that has been tempered by a widespread understanding that real inequity is at play. 

Waterford politicians know that WIT was an excellent institution and was on the cusp of independent university status. That drive for independence came to a shuddering halt in the noughties. 

The failure to invest in WIT since 2011 is an indelible stain on Government and on the Fine Gael party in particular. After all, they came to power in 2011 having promised a university for Waterford. 

They reneged on that commitment. 

Since then, 13 years later, to the eternal disgrace of that party and regardless of the waffle that permeates the Fine Gael party's desire to achieve a Dáil seat in the upcoming election, not a cent has been spent on new third-level teaching facilities in Waterford. 

It is beyond belief and no other Irish city has suffered such an investment famine in one of the most critical areas of 21st Century life. 

Fine Gael simply cannot explain away what has happened on their watch. In particular, the failure in the past five years of the present government’s tenure to build a new engineering building, first promised in 2008, will go down in Irish third-level history as a dark and dismal political undermining of the future of this city. 

A proposed building with planning permission since 2019 is now being shamefully long-fingered through a reapplication for planning permission into an uncertain future. It could have commenced construction in 2020. 

Yes, SETU has been established, the glass factory site has been bought, the school of veterinary medicine has been announced, but where is the money, the promised investment in Waterford that would establish the promised university of scale on the largest SETU campus?

In the current Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Green coalition we can easily allocate investment responsibility in Waterford among the various parties. Obvious improvements in bus and rail connectivity are Green. They also “own” the airport debacle. 

The North Quays investment, housing (Darragh O’Brien), and improvements in UHW staff and budget (Stephen Donnelly) fall under Fianna Fáil ministers who also “own” 24/7 cardiology. 

The delivery from Fine Gael ministers looks dismal. The party has difficulty relating to Waterford city, preferring instead the large farmer counties of Wexford, Carlow and Kilkenny with Mr Hogan in the background. Catherine Martin has done a reasonable job for sport in Waterford, but otherwise, new FDI investments are as scarce as hen’s teeth and the SETU engineering building story is a sorry saga. Going into a general election without a heavyweight investment in Waterford to its name, may deservedly haunt Fine Gael in this constituency.