Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There is a feeling sometimes when one has these discussions that it is one section of the country pitted against another, such as the east coast versus the west. However, having heard the figures that Councillor Guirke cited, it is not quite as clear-cut as that. Meath County Council has the lowest per capitaincome, expenditure and staff in the State. A number of things need to come out of this. Investment should take existing population levels into consideration. There should also be some disruptive element to the processes occurring within the State. As we see it, there is an over-concentration in certain urban areas on the east coast to the detriment of other areas of the country. To fix that one needs to disrupt it, which means identifying infrastructural investments that are not exactly population related. That means planning investment and infrastructure for a population it is hoped will exist in five, ten, 15 or 20 years' time. That is key regarding areas in Meath.

What level of engagement have the witnesses had with the State regarding the development of the spatial plan? The last spatial plan was in 2002, but not much heed has been paid to it in the past seven years as far as I can see. Departments are coming to some level of completion on the spatial plan, so I wanted to see what level of engagement there is from elected representatives and officials for those three local areas. Have they had their say or made submissions? How do they feel the spatial plan must develop?