Regions such as County Longford have seen disappointment after disappointment and now, to cap it all, they are excluded from the strategy's designated premier towns. Designated towns are targeted for growth and development over the next two decades, while others have been left very much on the periphery of these necessary advances. I will do everything I can to prevent Longford being relegated in this manner. This is the third major letdown for the town in a matter of months. The natural gas pipeline was rerouted as a result of political interference, the Cardinal Health plant was deferred with the loss of 1,300 potential jobs, and now the town is to be neither a gateway nor a development hub.