Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response. As he is aware, Project Ireland 2040 refers to a hub and spoke strategy. One of the towns identified in that regard is Athlone, which is doing very well and has become, in effect, the silicon heartland of northern Europe, with more tech jobs per capitathan anywhere else in our region. However, that is not spinning out to other towns such as Longford, Roscommon, Ballinasloe, Mullingar and Tullamore.

The Minister of State gave the example of Sligo. I will give the example of Ballinasloe, where there is under-utilised water, wastewater and utilities. There is an abundance of public service land but IDA Ireland will not secure that additional public land for expansion into the future. I have raised this issue with the Taoiseach on numerous occasions on the floor of the House. He is coming to Ballinasloe tomorrow to see the lands for himself and I expect him to make an announcement regarding future investment on that campus.

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