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

I ask the Taoiseach how the current national development plan, NDP, can deliver balanced regional development where previous plans have failed. We have a long list of projects. The language around regional balance is there. We know from bitter experience that that has not worked beforehand and past performance is certainly a poor indicator of future success. Time and again, I have quoted the facts and figures that show the widening economic gap between the northern and western region and the rest of the country. Unfortunately, the European Commission confirmed our worst fears by downgrading the region economically, not just compared to other regions in Ireland but to every single region in the EU. In that context, the NDP has some heavy lifting to do in order to redress the economic imbalance which has worsened over the last 15 years.

I do not believe that the Taoiseach or any of his predecessors intended for such an imbalance in development between the regions to occur. I believe that it was a combination of inertia, a frame of mind wherein a rising tide would lift all boats, a failure to measure systematically the impact of policy from a regional perspective across all Departments and, more than anything else, the absence of a disciplined and ongoing commitment to provide the necessary investment and support to the northern and western region.

There is a five city-led approach to development, not exclusively but significantly. However, the northern and western region cannot benefit from that approach as it has only one city, which is situated at its southern tip. The NDP needs to be explicitly nuanced to allow other towns in the region, such as Sligo, to play a special role as a driver for development. If it is to close that gap, towns such as Sligo and Letterkenny must be afforded opportunities and provided with investment that is comparatively greater than that being provided to similar-sized towns in other regions. That is not favouritism. It is an absolute necessity to rebalance the part of the plan that is city-led. We need timelines and benchmarks to measure progress. Finally, we need a form of regional proofing when assessing projects.

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