Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

This was subsequently put into the programme for Government. The manifesto stated that decentralisation would be to those towns which had some difficulty in attracting industry.

There was only one passing reference to decentralisation in the national spatial strategy, which was mainly about the location of private services, industrial investment and so on. If one were to take the national spatial strategy as gospel, Tipperary would get no decentralisation at all as there is no hub or gateway in that county.

There was a certain contradiction in what Senator Phelan said. He spoke about places of high unemployment, yet such places are not hubs or gateways. A complete shibboleth has been made of the national spatial strategy by a certain writer in The Irish Times. It was clearly set out from the beginning that decentralisation was a different process that was complementary to the national spatial strategy, but not identical to it. If previous programmes are taken into account, nearly every hub and gateway has already benefitted from decentralisation.

The degree of political negativity from the Opposition and from the Dublin-based media is slowing down and delaying the process. I do not doubt that Senator Phelan is in favour of the principle of decentralisation, but if an alternative Government was formed, what would be decided by those who are based in Dublin and who have expressed much hostility to decentralisation? It will be an issue at the next election.