Tom Parlon (Laois-Offaly, Progressive Democrats)

It is not all doom and gloom down there. I wish Senators Bannon and Ulick Burke luck with their airport in Abbeyshrule. The BMW also includes my own county of Offaly and also Laois. More than €8 billion has been spent in the BMW region under the national development plan. More than half of this has been spent on capital infrastructure projects. Progress under the national development plan is accelerating and the objective is to continue this momentum until the end of the plan. The Government's commitment to balanced regional development is reflected in the national spatial strategy which will be forming future investment strategy.

Senator Leyden asked about decentralisation. I assure the Senator——