Mr. Mike Devane:

With all due respect, if the Deputy is concerned about the welfare and future of communities in the west, we need to correct the issue of regional imbalance. The only way of doing so is to set out an economic strategy that corrects it. We know from the work we have done that such a strategy must include large infrastructural development to support the type of industry investment that will drive up GDP and create the gross value added, GVA, that is needed per person. That is what is needed now. The Deputy is right. We do need to make a decision. We need to make a decision that we are either doing something about it or we are not. With all due respect, I am all for greenways and recreation and people enjoying the fresh air. I live in the countryside and I am all for that. By far the more important thing, however, is that key assets and infrastructure that are required for future development are protected for that development and are immediately put into use. We are talking here about a piece of infrastructure that can immediately be put into use that will protect existing investment in the west and will attract other investment.

I have spent most of my life working for large corporations and in the US, arguing for investment for Ireland. I understand exactly why people invest and why they put things in places. We do not have that much to sell when one goes north of the Galway-Dublin line. The Deputy is right - we do need to make a decision. The decision we need to make is whether we are going to fix this problem or not. That guidance, whatever it is, should be given to the rail review people and they should be told that either we are going to use this as part of our economic backbone or we do not care about it, in which case they can do whatever they choose. That is the decision that needs to be made.