John O'Mahony (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I warmly welcome the delegation representing chambers of commerce from the midlands, west and north west. Some are involved in industry and Sligo Institute of Technology. I thank them for their detailed briefing and not only today's. I attended a briefing they gave in Buswells Hotel prior to Christmas. I am familiar with the scene in Mayo, in particular, and the obstacles to industry provided by the lack of infrastructure but the more I read the figures presented by the delegation and the more I looked into the issue, I concluded that a collaborative approach was needed. This infrastructure is vital for the west, north west and the midlands. Deputy Troy and I pushed hard to get the delegation before the committee because, as Mr. Corcoran mentioned, the review of the capital programme is under way. The Mullingar to Rooskey section was removed from the previous capital programme in 2008. The Celtic tiger was on its way to Mullingar but never got past it. This is a no-brainer. Colleagues in various parties support this. The Brexit negotiations are about to begin. There is an economic recovery but one side of Ireland could be choked and the other cut off if action is not taken. This project affects a number of regions and could unlock their potential. The Government's aim is to have a greater percentage of the jobs created under the most recent Action Plan for Jobs go to the regions and this is a way of doing that.

I have three questions. From an industry point of view, will the witnesses explain the disadvantages they are at currently, and will be at as the years go by? Even if the project was prioritised in the capital programme, it would be years before it is delivered. What would be the positive effects if the roads in the various regions were upgraded?

Mr. Corcoran referred to the implications from a business perspective. When I read the word "talent" in the submission, I was wondering what was meant by that. Does it mean the highly-qualified people from these regions will be able to get jobs in them if this project goes ahead?