Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is a reality; it reflects what is there. There are five cities that are already cities which have a major influence in the area. For example, Galway is a medtech centre in the context of Europe and is a major player in an international context. One cannot just forget about it, one has to plan to enhance its position and provide the infrastructure. There are traffic plans for Galway that require an investment of nearly €1 billion to relieve the pressure in the city. That needs to be planned and made happen and investment is required. This does not mean that there will be no investment in Mayo but the Senator has to realise that Galway is the leading city in the region and that such cities need to be used.

We are not saying that Mayo will suffer to Sligo's benefit or vice versa. We are just setting out the regional context in terms of what needs to be done. The Senator makes a good point about how there needs to be extra weighting in order for real change to happen. We are trying to strengthen the wording in respect of the north and the north west. We can examine the weighting. The population percentages are 50% in cities and 50% in rural areas. However, the general feedback is that a people want to see strengthened wording regarding the future of the north and the north west. We will do this in coming months.