Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is the best option for Cork. The group of five individuals considered the matter for nine months and I respect the report it produced. Its objective is to put Cork in a position in which it can compete on a regional basis with the conurbation around Dublin. That is what has been proposed. I stand fully behind the proposal and commend Alf Smiddy and his group on the work they did. Incidentally, they agreed on many issues, including that doing nothing would be the worst scenario.

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