Mr. Feargal O'Rourke:

Absolutely. The Senator also mentioned the university. My grandfather, who was a Member of these Houses, was heavily involved in establishing what was then Athlone Regional Technical College. She is right that the action programme for jobs was probably the best example, in the past 20 years or more, of a whole-of-government approach. Departmental and agency boundaries were pushed to one side and people had real targets and initiatives that had to deliver. So far in this century it is probably the resounding success of Government policy when it comes to employment. It was fantastic. That understanding still reverberates a bit throughout the system. I mentioned earlier the challenges we face on the grid, water, electricity and housing. They will require a whole-of-government approach in some areas too. In my seven weeks in the job, I have met some of my peers - chairs of some of the other key agencies - and we recognise it requires that coming together of agencies and Departments to do it.

In terms of the IDA, we win the mandate for Ireland and then try to get it out to the regions. All of the teams have regional targets, so we are trying to make sure there is balanced investment between the eight regions we report on. Some members here would say they would prefer if it was focused on towns or counties. However, regions are the best way because of the spillover effect. The Senator mentioned that if there is something in Monkstown, Athlone, it has an impact on Roscommon, east Galway, Longford, Westmeath, Offaly and that is only within a 30-minute drive of the town. There is good connectivity between the various IDA regional teams. There is good connectivity between the regional teams, the local authorities and the local chamber of commerce. I was in Athlone last Friday. What I see of the connectivity between the IDA and local stakeholders is still strong. It is understandable why the Senator might say Ballinasloe might be better than Athlone for certain things, and that is right. From an IDA regional perspective, it is looking at the region and asking if it is balanced vis-a-vis the other region? That interactivity will continue. I find the best cases are made by people like the Senator or the local chamber of commerce, who ask if we can consider Ballinasloe for this. That feeds into the thinking. When there is more promotion of towns or counties by stakeholders it seeps into the psyche.