Joe McHugh (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. From the point of view of my constituency and its general hinterland, the BMW region, the ESRI report does not really affect us. The people in this region know there is wastage and that there are problems regarding value for money and general spending. General expenditure is tilted towards the east of the country. We did not need the ESRI report to prove that to us, nor did we need any consultancy review. We know there is an imbalance.

One of the key priorities of the national development plan was balanced regional development. I remember that balanced regional development was a main issue for the Minister of State during his election campaign. However, as matters stand, the BMW region has lost out. We have lost in terms of infrastructural investment, be it broadband services or roads. I will highlight some of the figures later.

The south-east of the country has gained considerably with regard to broadband and information technology investment. It has attracted high-value, high-tech companies, such as pharmaceutical companies, from America. An €18 million information technology project was launched quite recently in that part of the country. This can be compared to an investment in Donegal of €4 million. There is a considerable difference. I acknowledge and commend the €4 million spend in Donegal. It is important because it will be instrumental in attracting high-tech companies to the county –€3 million will be spent in Letterkenny and €1 million has been spent in Gweedore. The Tánaiste has been talking about change and transition from a manufacturing technology base in Donegal, from a low skill labour force towards a high skill information technology one. If she is to put the money where her mouth is, she must come on board and consider all the people who have lost their jobs in the Fruit of the Loom and other textile industries in Donegal. The Gweedore industrial estate is now barren. There is no point in expecting an investment of €4 million to address the infrastructural needs of that part of the country.

The BMW region has the figures to prove that tourism is down in the region. Flagship projects have been touted over the past four or five years, since I joined Donegal County Council in 1999. According to the national development plan, the flagship projects for Donegal will not happen because an area must have in excess of 100,000 visitors annually in order to get one of these projects. There is a serious problem if we are restricted under this plan in terms of numbers. It is a case of the cart and the horse – we do not have the numbers at present and that means we do not get the project. That matter must be addressed also.