I wish to bring to the attention of the Seanad a matter I raised in the 2009 local elections when I ran as a candidate. On that basis I seek that the Minister of State with responsibility for housing and planning would come to the House to debate the legislation on developers’ contributions. Changes must be made to the rules and laws governing same, as right throughout the Celtic tiger era estates were popping up at almost the speed of light yet residents now find themselves without basic public services such as footpaths within their vicinity. In particular I refer to the example of my home town of Athenry, County Galway. I am aware that the trend is replicated right across the country. In Athenry in particular we have a situation in the townland of Ballydavid where there are no less than nine estates which have no continuous pedestrian access to the town. To exacerbate the problem there is a dangerous railway bridge located on a bend where pedestrians have to play cat and mouse with their lives against the traffic. The lack of basic services is not just limited to the Ballydavid area. In Raheen we also have a large number of recreational amenities in the area and yet no footpath leading all the way to them.

That is a suitable matter to raise in an Adjournment debate.

It would be a very good Adjournment debate matter.

I wish to raise it in a preliminary manner.

The former Deputy, Mr. Charlie O’Connor, could take lessons from Senator Higgins.

This is a matter of national importance. To ensure that this never happens again it is essential that we legislate for a high percentage, if not all, of developers’ contributions to be designated for the area from which they are acquired. It is essential for many reasons that people and towns benefit positively from development and, as a consequence, I call for a debate on the issue so that we can ensure that any future development in our areas will not come at a cost to our basic services and facilities.

I have no doubt that will go into the Galway Advertiser straight away.