Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Western Development Commission recently issued a report on employment in the north west over the period 2011-16. The increase in the north west was 2.2%, compared with 11% nationally. During questions on promised legislation last week, Deputy McLoughlin stated that the Action Plan for Jobs in the north west was not working, something we have been saying for some time. The Taoiseach stated, "It will be a priority of Government in the months and years ahead to ensure that those parts of the country where the recovery has been slow will experience an acceleration in their recovery." I respectfully ask the Taoiseach to have a look at the national planning framework document for 2020 to 2040, which proposes five major economic zones, namely, Dublin, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Cork. There is nothing above the line from Dublin to Galway and no mention of Carrick-on-Shannon, Sligo, Donegal or Letterkenny. The plan is flawed. We do not want a fancy plan but balanced regional development where the north west has an equal chance of producing jobs.

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