John Perry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy Cooper-Flynn for bringing this issue to the floor of the House.

The figures in the national development plan speak for themselves. I represent Sligo and Leitrim, two western counties that regularly bear the brunt of decisions taken by a Government that is orientated towards the east. We get lip-service, and plenty of it, but little else from this Government. Promises are made to be broken when it comes to spending. Marginalised regions feel there is a danger the Government's lack of action will further widen the gap, with the west having an even poorer standard of infrastructure, and will force more of its children to move away.

It may only take two or three hours to drive from Dublin to Sligo or Castlebar but there is a world of difference when it comes to Government priorities. There is currently a gap of 13% between the south and east region and the BMW region, even though we are a small country. Despite much talk, that figure of 13% has only fallen 0.7% since 2000, not much to boast about when we live in an Ireland that has seen unprecedented growth and wealth. While figures released by the CSO indicate that the growth of the gap between the rich and poor regions in the State has not widened since 2000, it has also not narrowed.

Output in the Dublin region grew from more than €35 billion in 2000 to more than €39 billion in 2001 and output for the southern and eastern region as a whole grew by more than €9 billion, three times more than the BMW region. That is incredible. This Government cannot say it is prioritising the BMW region and then stand by such figures.

The most dispiriting thing is that this situation will continue under this Government. Infrastructure in the poorer regions is not being prioritised, it is being left on a shelf while projects deemed more urgent by the Government are pushed through. Faced with delays to the roads building programme, the former Minister for Transport, Deputy Brennan, directed that priority be given to building motorways to the cities of Galway and Limerick, two cities which are already doing well.

This inaction on the part of the Government will lead to deeper divides. It is not that these projects should not be fast-tracked but their high priority pushes roads to Sligo and Kerry and other deprived regions further down the list, widening the regional prosperity gap. There is a direct relationship between disposable income and the level of infrastructure in the regions. The cities and large towns served by good roads, ports, railways and airports are doing best. Those regions doing worst have a lower level of these services, lower access to high-speed technology communications and lower disposable incomes.

There is a definite link between prosperity and infrastructure. The failure to acknowledge this and to act on it further implicates this Government in failing the BMW region. It is not doing what it can for those regions which are falling behind in terms of growth. Instead of focusing on these counties, the Government is turning a blind eye and allowing them to have poorer infrastructure and a poorer economy than those in the east.

The underspend in the BMW region is particularly worrying. Road investment in the region is well below target and the western rail corridor has been put on the back-burner when it should be prioritised. There has been an underspend of €223 million on public transport in the region. The Taoiseach should allocate part of the remaining funding to the rail corridor, which would revolutionise transport in the area.

We are losing our graduates. Only 9% of those with primary degrees found their first employment in Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Mayo and Galway in 2001. This compares with 55.4% of graduates finding their first point of employment in the east. The west must be prioritised but it is not being done because the Government continues to look to the east in terms of spreading growth. This is not good enough and I hope this debate will help change that.

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