Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am afraid my question will not be as topical or controversial as some questions today but it matters a great deal to the people I represent. I want to ask the Taoiseach about his commitment to developing regional growth centres and, specifically, to developing Sligo as one of those centres.

Project Ireland 2040 makes many promises but the programme for Government is light on detail. We are told the Government will develop the cities of Waterford, Cork, Limerick and Galway and there is mention of regional towns prospering. We need a strong statement and I will tell the Taoiseach why we need a strong statement and strong action. The European Commission has downgraded the northern and western region from the status of being developed to a region in transition. As somebody who was involved in the Objective One status campaign I thought I would never see that day where we had gone backwards.

According to EUROSTAT's GDP figures, in 2018, we were at 79% of the European average per person compared to the south at 235% and the east at 205%. I acknowledge GDP has its limitations but even going back to 2014, our GDP has continued to fall comparatively. We cannot just say there is a gap between the regions and that it is growing; it is ballooning.

The Northern and Western Regional Assembly report published last November contains a load of figures. I will only quote one or two, as I have quoted some of them to the Taoiseach previously. Capital investment in third level education, for example, equates to €141 per student in the north and west whereas it is €197 nationally. The spend on roads, both regional and local, are significantly lower. I will not quote the figures because they will fry people's heads. In eight of the past 11 years the spend on research and development is below the national average. There are many more figures.

I refer specifically to Sligo. The number of Enterprise Ireland, EI, jobs in Sligo reduced by one third between 2010 and 2019 and in Leitrim by half. The number of Industrial Development Authority Ireland, IDA, jobs, in Sligo remained the same but the national average increased by 40%. Sligo University Hospital has 40 fewer beds than it had nine years ago.

What measures will the Government take to redress that imbalance and ensure that Sligo is a regional growth centre?

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