Regional imbalance must be addressed if Ireland's growth potential is to be fully realised. The Government has firmly committed itself to tackling this problem. The regionalisation of the country into Objective One and Objective One in transition areas as well as the awarding of gateway and hub status show that we are prepared to target incentives at those areas where development is needed most. However, now is the time to follow these initiatives firmly with definite and genuine plans to establish government outside Dublin. Decentralisation is not an end in itself, rather the beginning, a method whereby we can begin to address some of the serious regional imbalances that have developed in recent years. For this reason, I call on the Government to implement a policy of decentralisation without delay.