Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)

Both previous speakers referred to the greater Dublin area. Deputy Connick will forgive me for including the Wexford commuter belt in the greater Dublin area. The real problem is that a Pale mentality is evident from this Government and the previous Government. If one lives in the far flung corners of the country, such as in my constituency of Cork North-West, or any constituency along the western seaboard, it is obvious we are not really getting our fair share of the cake.

People refer continuously to regional development and the national spatial strategy. The reality is that what the Government is trying to do now is to put a pint into a half pint pot in terms of retrofitting infrastructural projects to remedy the ills of bad planning and the failure to have proper regional development. The problem is that the east has been over-developed at the expense of the regions, especially the west and the south west.

The Government has placed great emphasis on the major inter-urban routes, namely, Dublin to Cork, Dublin to Galway, Dublin to Belfast and Dublin to Wexford. In reality, what the major inter-urban routes are doing is facilitating a continuous growth of Dublin which is sucking the lifeblood from the regions. If we were serious about regional development and the national spatial strategy, we would build a road from Donegal to west Kerry. This would create a real counterbalance to the current over-development in the east of the country. That over-development affects quality of life. As John Healy the Mayo man once said, there is a place called Stop and we have reached it in terms of the level of development on the east coast. There is a direct correlation between quality of life and continued development on the east coast. The flip side of that coin is that pressures arise due to under-development and lack of investment in infrastructure in the other regions, and as a consequence, their failure to develop a counter-attraction in terms of development of the greater Dublin area.

I attended a delegation this morning from Macroom Town Council to the Minister for Transport, Deputy Dempsey, about the Macroom town bypass. Deputy Connick referred to projects coming in under budget and ahead of time. In a document published by the NRA, it was stated that construction on the Macroom town bypass was due to commence in 2004. This morning the Minister told us it would not start until after 2010. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Ryan, will know the area to which I refer as he has a particular connection to Macroom.

Prior to the general election we were told the compulsory purchase orders for land acquisition would be published imminently, yet deadlines have come and gone. There is a real difficulty in the town. Children are put in danger every day as schools are located on the side of the national primary route. Likewise, elderly people take their lives in their hands when they attempt to cross the road. Those who are familiar with Macroom will be aware it is a long town and it is really suffering for the want of a bypass. It is a gateway to development in Killarney, Kerry and Tralee.

If we were serious about regional development and the national spatial strategy we would stand back from the major inter-urban routes and carry out a cost-benefit analysis on the building of a road from Cashel to Urlingford where I have never seen a traffic jam. Perhaps a cost-benefit analysis would justify proceeding with the Macroom bypass to continue the investment on the N22 from the Ballincollig bypass onwards to Killarney. That is what should be done.

We need to look at black spots. We do not need to jump in blindly and state in Transport 21 that the major inter-urban routes are to be the priority, regardless of what is happening in any other place in the country. The major inter-urban routes are sucking the lifeblood out of the regions. They are facilitating the pull of Dublin because one can get to Dublin faster from Galway, Cork, Belfast and Wexford. That is not what proper regional development is about. If we were really committed to this notion we would facilitate infrastructural investment such as new roads and rail connections on the west coast from Donegal to Kerry to make it an attractive place to live and work and for companies to locate and provide investment and jobs.

Transport 21 is a wish list. It is important we continue to prioritise capital investment in infrastructure. There is no shortage of projects. We should do cost-benefit analyses and not plough on blindly with the major inter-urban routes at the expense of regions where development is being delayed and obstructed. This is a sacred cow that needs to be slain. I hope the Government will re-think the issue. I reached the conclusion some time ago that there is a Pale mentality. The real problem is that most of the infrastructural investment is taking place in Dublin and is facilitating access to the greater Dublin region.

I appreciated the candour of the Minister, Deputy Dempsey, this morning, but it is cold comfort to the people who are trying to live and do business in Macroom. On any day of the week, it can take upwards of an hour to get through the town. That is a shocking impediment to doing business. It is also a quality of life and a safety issue for the elderly, children and everyone else because of the volume of heavy traffic that often has no business going through the town.

I am pleased to have the opportunity to make these comments. I am sure my contribution will not be much different from other Deputies' parochial take on Transport 21 but we believe we have been short-changed. It is not delivering for those of us in the regions. We must re-prioritise and examine black spots and if they are to be addressed at the expense of the major inter-urban routes, that should be done and we should not apologise for that.

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