Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)

On regional development, there was a brief section in the review on the need for regional balance. Obviously, there are no specific details yet. In the west of Ireland, there are many important projects, including the western rail corridor, the Galway ring road, the double-tracking of the Athenry to Galway route and the Gluas project, that need to be progressed. Our current infrastructure in the west is totally inadequate. I am concerned that will the lion's share of funding under this plan will be directed to other parts of the State while the west and north west will continue to suffer. I am sure the Minister is aware our region is among the most underdeveloped regions in the EU in terms of infrastructure. What is he going to do to ensure funding is distributed fairly among the regions? Has an instruction been issued to the various Departments to ensure regional balance in their plans? Will the Minister be asking for plans to be revised if they are not regionally balanced?