Dr. Ray Griffin:

On positive discrimination, in the south east we are 8.9% of the country. If we spend €13 billion a year, and if money follows citizens, we should be spending about €1 billion in the south east. My calculations cannot get that north of €200 million as I stitch the projects together. Under the original framing of our Constitution, the Cabinet has incredible power. The idea is that power would rotate around the country and that at some stage, you would have your day in the sun. Definitely, the south east has had those moments in the past, as have different regions, but perhaps the better gain is to clean up the game. What if there was fairness going forward? Think about what the south east, the midlands, the north west, the Border region, the west and the other regions that feel disadvantaged could do with a fair share. These are the places that feel disadvantaged and are being left alone in their anger politically. They have this feeling of disconnect that is following the money. It would clean up the game. I also believe that we have very capable public administrators. If they had a fair share and they knew that was the way it would unfold, they could curate their own region’s needs and ambitions into sustainable, balanced regional development. For me, that is the bigger prize.