Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The eastern region will continue to grow according to every report and survey. It is no longer Dublin, it is the greater Dublin area, and the definitions of the greater Dublin area get greater every year and it gets wider. To answer Deputy Ferris's question, the Government and I are totally supportive of balanced regional development. I think it is good for Dublin, the Dublin region and the country. As time goes on it is the only way to cater for a population of 5 million.

We are now told that within 13 years, which is a very short time, we will have in excess of 5 million people. The only way is to use the spatial strategy and the hubs to try to develop not only public sector but private sector jobs. That is what the Government has been supporting and pressing for a long time. Whether by Enterprise Ireland, the IDA or others most of the effort is made to try to move as much of the investment as we can. The public service has to give an example. It is not enormous out of a workforce of approximately 2.2 million. Within a year we will have 2.2 million people working. It is not only the 7,000, it is the large part of the public service. I do not think the public service will be the problem in the years ahead.

Through health and education the public service will continue to give employment around the country. The problem will be to try and get more private sector companies to move. A large amount of private sector companies, whether they are indigenous or multinationals, want to be around universities and airports. They have their priorities and it is not easy to get them to move either to the south west as Deputy Ferris mentioned or other areas. Policy has to be to try to get them to do so, otherwise the greater Dublin area will snarl even more. That is why I am in favour of this. There has been a very active programme on every investment for several years. The incentives are there to get them to move away from the greater Dublin area. It is in everybody's interest that they do so.

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