Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this motion. I have spoken in the House many times about the under spending outlined in the mid-term review of the national development plan. It is an utter scandal that a part of the country ignored by successive Governments continues to be ignored. Despite the national development plan and spatial strategy that are supposed to redress regional imbalance, it is being compounded even further. The most scandalous thing of all is that the inequity suffered by a particular region continues unabated.

While there is no point in reiterating as I have many times the figures that prove my case, certain facts stick out like a sore thumb. Under-investment in infrastructure in the west fails the country as a whole. The idea of the national development plan is to improve the State and make it a more equitable place in which to live. Given Dublin's traffic problems, over-population and the ass-and-cart pace at which people there must travel, it does not make sense that half of graduates from the west must move to Dublin to get their first jobs. Getting in and out of Dublin involves significant hassle and people who must leave home in the early hours of the morning arrive home at all hours of the evening. They should be at home with their families at a reasonable hour. It is unacceptable.

The plan to build a second terminal at Dublin Airport is the most amazing madness ever. Passenger numbers will increase from 18 million to 30 million at an airport that is completely congested. One cannot get in or out of it, which is absolutely disgraceful. We should just look west to Knock Airport through which 400,000 passengers are projected to travel this year and where it would make a great deal more sense to provide the terminal in question. Doing so would ensure more balanced regional development, which is what the national development plan is supposed to be all about. It is ridiculous that while tourist numbers in Ireland have increased by 6%, bed nights in the west have declined by 20%. It is a terrible indictment of the Government. People in the industry are struggling to survive while paying staff, heating and insurance bills at the same level as hotels on O'Connell Street in Dublin. It is unacceptable.

We need balanced regional development now and the provision of a second terminal in Knock not Dublin.

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