Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Comhghairdeas to the Minister of State on his new role. We share an interest in Knock Airport and its development. We have talked about it for decades since Monsignor Horan was brave enough, against all the odds, to build the airport. It is obvious that it has not fulfilled its potential. In 2022, the EU downgraded the north and west as a lagging region with a GDP of only 71% of the EU average. Last year, the Northern and Western Regional Assembly published research showing that since 2016, the north and west region has received just 5.7% of investment in infrastructure projects worth more than €20 million. The facts speak for themselves. We have a unique opportunity but it is not going to happen unless we all work together. That is why I want to see this roadmap. I want to see that it will be measured along the way to ascertain exactly who is responsible for moving it along and how and when that will be done.

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