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

The Minister says the Government is committed to improving transport infrastructure in the north west. One of the projects he mentions is the N4. That was promised when I was chairperson of the Council for the West back in 1996. If we go back to the NDP in 2000, we see all of these projects promised in it. If we go back to the NDP for 2007 to 2013, all of these projects were also promised. I am talking about the completion of the N17 from Charlestown to Sligo. The Minister mentioned the Donegal TEN-T project. It is still not up and running despite the fact that it was in a national development plan in 2000. We have the upgrade of the Sligo-Dublin rail link and the Galway ring road. All of these projects were included in those plans and we are still hearing promises that the Government is committed to delivering them. However, we are not seeing delivery at the pace that is needed. That is why the European Commission has ranked the region in the bottom 10% across the EU. I do not see an absolute commitment to front-loading these projects and moving them forward. I see the same slow pace. We get a bit here and a bit there, but that is not balanced regional development.

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