Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

High value jobs are available in the BMW region and the already good infrastructure in the area is being substantially improved. The Deputy may be aware that the National Roads Authority's recently released plans for this year indicate a significant upscaling of investment in the BMW region, with eight or nine of its projects located in that area. Having been responsible for the formulation of the spatial strategy, I appreciate that aspirations towards balanced development must be met by an equitable investment package. People in my area in the south east will also be disconcerted by the CSO figures and will claim the picture is distorted by the dominance of Dublin and that the figures for the southern and eastern region are also relatively low.

Putting statistics aside, the objective is to achieve substantial investment in the BMW region and to create a regional balance. I am prepared to put a significant amount of infrastructure in place to achieve that end. Activity in the BMW region this year represents a doubling of what took place last year. This is a clear illustration of my intentions in this regard.

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