Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the IPI members and thank them for their presentation. Could they critique the national spatial strategy in light of the aspirations and ideas behind gateways and hubs? How effective has it been? What has it meant for the towns and cities that have been so designated? North of a line from Louth to Galway, there are no motorways, there is poorer connectivity and there has been less investment in towns over the lifetime of our national spatial strategy. To what extent have we achieved balanced regional development since the Celtic tiger when money was spent on infrastructure? What might the witnesses change about the designation of towns as gateways and hubs? What could we do to accelerate the sort of development we would like to see in these areas? What can be done to redress the imbalance? I am from County Mayo.

It is an aspiration that all planning would dovetail. We constantly refer to our Food Harvest 2020 targets, which aim to ramp up agricultural production. Much of it is based on our pasture land for feeding our animals, which is unique to us. On the other hand, we have energy targets for electricity and energy crops. Although I have not seen it seriously happen, in my home county people are being encouraged to grow willow for the generation of electricity. On the other hand, we want more cattle and are abolishing the dairy quota next year. To what extent have these competing interests been examined? What are the guiding principles? Is it purely over to the Government of the day, or can there be a more rounded approach? Have any of the Departments examined how to deal with competing interests, what it might mean and who might have to cut back on their objectives? Maybe that will not have to happen. In my constituency, these interests seem to compete and it seems to be a matter of choice for each farmer.