Dr. Brian Hughes:

What I am talking about is the multiplier effect. If a large town like Portlaoise because of its growing size and labour pool availability can attract more foreign direct investment and so on, the benefit of that in turn ought to be greater than it might be if a town of 2,000 or 3,000 people was selected. It is difficult politically because the politician has to try to influence the best for Ireland in terms of the national planning framework. Given our resources and all of the things that are coming down the line such as Brexit etc., what is going to be the best for Ireland in the longer term?