Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State described various regional plans and we are looking at the national planning framework. There are 131,000 people living in Mayo. There are three towns with populations of 10,000 and the remainder of the county consists of rural areas and small towns. The county has a population of 131,000 and a functioning economy. I understand that the Minister of State has to look at large cities. I do not mean any disrespect in the context of what Deputy McLoughlin is suggesting, but the Minister of State should go into some detail in respect of counties such as Mayo and Roscommon. There are 131,000 people living in county Mayo compared with 61,000 in the whole of County Sligo, including the city. Why would the Minister of State suggest that we in Mayo should have to commute to Sligo or Galway? Why will he not provide some detail on Mayo? Take linked hubs, for example. We had a spacial strategy previously, but the problem was that it was not implemented. The strategy identified hub towns. I do not think it is acceptable for the Minister of State to make that statement.