Dr. John Bradley:

The Deputy raises a very interesting and complex issue about regional imbalances. If one measures imbalances between the Irish counties in terms of output per head or GDP per head, these disparities are much bigger than if one measures it in terms of household disposable income per head. There is much more equality there because the social welfare transfer system transfers income from the rich regions to the poor regions. However, that creates dependency, so although it is socially very desirable in the short run, we have examples in Europe such as the Mezzogiorno region in southern Italy, where this kind of dependency can last forever. If I may say something that might be controversial in Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland is a very good example of this within the 13 regions of the UK, because it is the most dependent region and has been for decades, yet development has not been stimulated. The point I was making was not that there should be some horrifying austerity process to deprive the poor regions of their income support; rather, it was to draw attention to the fact that this does not drive enterprise, entrepreneurship and production because it has to go with other measures.

I will conclude by adding an anecdote. I can leave Westport at 5.15 a.m. on the red-eye, get into Heuston Station at 8.28 a.m. and be in the centre of Dublin at 9 a.m. The earliest I can leave Dublin for Belfast is 7.35 a.m., getting in at 9.45 a.m., which means I am in the centre of Belfast at 10.15 a.m. How idiotic is that for the island transport system?