James Bannon (Fine Gael)

The Government produced the national spatial strategy in 2002 in a blaze of publicity and then promptly lost its way in an attempt to forget about it. Stumbling in a self-made maze, more complex than any inhabited by the Minotaur of Greek mythology, the Government has made no attempt to offer visible appeasement, comparable to the seven youths and virgins demanded by the ancient creature, to regions throughout the country left without the promised infrastructure and investment.

On Thursday, 6 December 2002, I said in this House, when speaking about the launch of the spatial strategy: "Once again this Government has conceptualised and formulated an idea which although fine in theory, will be a miracle if seen through to completion. Given the pitfalls which are likely to befall it, I am not holding my breath." For the sake of my lungs, it is lucky I did not do so. Two and a half years later it is clear my words were prophetic and true.

The strategy has been left to gather dust on the shelves of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. There is no implementation strategy with a set timetable of action in place and no guarantees that investment and infrastructure planning will correspond with the development of the regions. Throughout the country, there is a lack of balanced regional development. According to the Western Development Commission, of the €1,570 million allocated to the region under the first three years of the national development plan, NDP, only €926 million was actually spent, a shortfall of approximately €644 million that should have been spent by the mid-point of the NDP.

The Government's level of capital investment under the NDP prioritises the major inter-urban routes, for example, Dublin to Cork, Limerick, Dundalk, Galway and Waterford, but even these are not expected to be completed until 2010. This means that other roads designated under the national development plan, especially those in the BMW region, may not be completed until 2015 or later. Road building schemes in the west, as outlined in the national development plan, are significantly behind schedule. Road schemes which were due to be completed by 2006 and which are now years behind schedule include the N4-N6 Dublin to Galway; the N3-N4 Leixlip to M50 junction; the N6 — Kinnegad to Athlone; the N6 — Athlone to Ballinasloe; the N6 — Ballinasloe to Galway; the N55, which passes through Longford and Westmeath to Athlone and is in a deplorable state; and the N52. This has been highlighted time and again in both Houses of the Oireachtas.

The midlands regional planning guidelines, which were adopted last April, focus on building up the urban structure of the region in accordance with a hierarchy of towns. A Leas-Chathaoirligh, there seem to be two meetings taking place in the Chamber. The Minister should listen to my contribution.