Mr. Adrian McCreesh:

I will be brief. I want to pick up on a number of comments made by Ms Gildernew and Mr. Molloy regarding potential investment and the impact of that investment within our region.

I am reminded as I look around that we, as a group, represent nine of the Thirty-two Counties of Ireland, North and South. This equates to approximately one fifth of the entire land mass of the island, a sizeable fraction, and one tenth of the entire population. When we refer to the central region, we are talking about a significant element of this island, North and South. I say this because many of us are of the view - as a practitioner in economic regeneration for 29 years, I am of this view - that all we have ever asked for in our part of the world is a level playing field. We have never asked for a handout; we have always asked for a leg up in order to ensure a level playing field. My ask today is exactly this because I genuinely know what we could do if we had decent roads, decent technology and decent access to investment and labour and skills development, as other areas have enjoyed over the past ten, 15 or 20 years.

I say this for two other reasons. Our part of the world has particular characteristics. We do not have public sector investment. We do not have the luxury of relying on significant public sector jobs. What have we done then? We have created our own jobs. Our people are the entrepreneurs of this island. We are the enterprise capital of this island. We are the ones who have created the greatest, biggest, boldest and broadest exporters on this island despite the lack of investment, North and South, that we have experienced. As a result, our ask is very simple: in any regional economic strategy, we urge a focus on where the entrepreneurship is and some focus on the creativity and the enterprises. Then we will demonstrate, by way of delivery, what we can do with a level playing field. In spite of poor roads, poor broadband and all the other deficiencies, we are very proud people. We boast a significant element of civic and economic pride throughout Tyrone, Derry, Monaghan and Fermanagh. We have pride in our families and our communities, and this is what keeps us going through the bad years and into the good years. We also say this: we do not want repeats upon repeats of emigration and losing our young people again and again. This is an opportunity through this strategy on the southern side of the Border to make a substantive investment in the central Border region. We ask and expect that this will be forthcoming, not just because we deserve it, but also because we will significantly return on the investment - fivefold, tenfold or perhaps more.