Mr. Paddy Malone:

I wish to reiterate the point about the region. Effectively, the region stretches as far north as the Giant's Causeway and as far south as Glendalough. Some 3.1 million people live within 90 minutes of Dundalk, Newry and Warrenpoint. That is the size we are talking about.

The Louth Economic Forum operates under the chairmanship of Padraic White, and I wish to acknowledge his work. The forum has strongly recommended that we include the Slieve Gullion area of Armagh as part of this. It is critical to understand that the area cannot sell by itself. The Cooley Peninsula will not work by itself, the Mourne district might work but Slieve Gullion by itself will not. However, the three areas combined offer a genuine alternative to the Cork-Kerry axis, with all due respect.