Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

-----particularly Enda Kenny’s opening comments that the pre-existing political culture had abandoned the principles underpinning the Republic that Fine Gael founded in 1949, had distorted the power and resources of the State for the benefit of the few, not the many, and had allowed the interests of citizens to be pushed behind those of powerful elites. Those are strong words which speak to ethics, ambition and hope. Was this just the stuff politicians say to win elections? It certainly worked in the south east, winning Fine Gael seven of the 14 available seats. A decade later, two seats are left.

I was in the House yesterday for the Taoiseach’s somewhat dismissive exchange with Deputy Harkin at Leaders' Questions. The Deputy presented cold, hard, irrefutable facts that show the economic disparity in the north west, just like the Border, midlands and south east. The Taoiseach’s response to those fact-based points was to throw out anecdotes. I have seen that playbook in action before; it is the one I get when I make the economic disparity case for Waterford and the south east in this House. However, the facts are clear. The Government continues to ignore its own national planning framework along with its Ireland 2040 plan. It stuffs every game-changing project into Cork and Dublin, both now severely bloated and suffering from what can only be diagnosed as chronic economic affluenza.

The 2011 promises to the south east have turned to dust. The M24 motorway has vanished; inserted in its stead are the new M28 Ringaskiddy motorway and the outlandish €400 million Dunkettle roundabout, both proceeding at pace. Hundreds of millions has been spent to provide state aid and subsidies to regional airports, but Waterford Airport is constructively shuttered. The provision of 24-7 cardiac care is consistently frustrated against a backdrop of ivory backscratchers in the national children’s hospital. There have been no new courses or buildings for Waterford’s university after Fine Gael being in power for 12 years. Nowhere does the manifesto say to spend a disproportionate amount of public money in Dublin or Cork, but that is what has been done.

If the Government wants the support of the common man, it needs to live its political ethics, ideals and history, and to stop acting like the government of Ballymagash. The Government is letting entire regions stew in their anger. It is likely, when served, these dishes will be best served cold.

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