John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister and his officials to the House to discuss the national development plan with particular emphasis on the Border, midlands and western region. The Minister outlined in a direct manner the current position of the roll-out of the national development plan in the BMW region. In that respect, there are a number issues I wish to take up with him.

Spending is behind schedule under a number of headings in the BMW region, an aspect to which the Minister referred. He offered a number of excuses to why this is the case. The Minister mentioned spending on public transport. Spending is behind schedule on other infrastructural projects such as sanitary services and water schemes. There seems to be serious shortcomings in the provision of funding for particular areas in the BMW region. That is the reason some of my colleagues were eager to have this debate and I am glad the Leader has given us time to have this debate.

I read a report in the media today which covers a recent statement by the Western Development Commission in which it outlined its reservations as to what it perceives to be the continuing neglect of the western region as a whole. That media report contradicts many of the comments made by the Minister. He referred to the Western Development Commission and a recent meeting he had with its representatives. Perhaps they used that opportunity to raise their concerns. The report I read in one of today's national newspapers contradicted much of what the Minister had to say on that issue. There seems to be an underspend of approximately €2 billion under the national development plan in the BMW region, which is a substantial underspend by any stretch of the imagination. The Minister offered some excuses as to why some of those moneys have not been spent but he has not satisfactorily answered as to why there is more than a €2 billion underspend in the BMW region.

The Dublin area is bursting at the seams in terms of development and sprawling suburbs that extend as far south as Gorey and north to Drogheda and into County Meath in particular. The decision by the Government to divide the country into two regions for the purposes of European Union funding was one I supported at the time and one I still support but the Government has not succeeded in ensuring that the gap between the two regions has been narrowed sufficiently. Some progress has been made towards that end but it has not been sufficient.

There seems to be an unwillingness on the part of some Government agencies to recognise the differences that exist between the BMW region and the eastern and southern regions. The enterprise strategy group report of last year, Ahead of the Curve, ignored regional differences and the need for specific regional policies. The tourism policy review group in its report last year took no account of the need to develop regional strategies with regard to the development of the tourism product. That was particularly puzzling because that is one area where the BMW region has a distinct advantage over the eastern and southern region in many respects. The CSO document, Measuring Ireland's Progress 2004, provided 120 national indicators with no regional differentiation between them. It is clear there is still some difficulty in many Government agencies in addressing the continuing imbalance which exists between the BMW and the southern and eastern regions.

At the time of the establishment of the two regional assemblies, I expressed some concern locally that the region from which I come, the south east, which includes Wexford, Waterford, Carlow, Kilkenny and south Tipperary, continues to have major infrastructural deficits. Its exclusion from the BMW region means it is not in receipt of major investment and, therefore, it continues to suffer as a result of not being in a position to gain advantage from that investment.

Professor Seamus Caulfield recently predicted a population drop of 20% in the next 15 years in the BMW region. The Minister mentioned the national spatial strategy and other Government initiatives but we must try to ensure the flight of people from the BMW region, which was rampant a number of years ago but has largely been stemmed, does not continue and is reversed. If Professor Seamus Caulfield predicts such a population drop, it is very serious and the Government should take it on board.

In 2004, 88 district electoral divisions in the BMW region had an unemployment rate of 24% or more. Despite what the Minister said about the narrowing gap between the BMW region and southern and eastern region, it shows much work remains to be done. County Donegal, which is part of the BMW region, has an unemployment rate of somewhere in the region of 15% or 16%. It is a blackspot and despite recent utterances, the Government has not done enough for that area to ensure the figure is reduced.

Fine Gael has put forward a number of proposals on how the situation in the BMW region can be improved. The party leader has outlined his belief that a Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach should be appointed to ensure spending under the national development plan and its successor in the BMW region goes ahead on schedule and that amounts promised are committed.

We have also raised the issue of decentralisation which is, to say the least, a political hot potato. I am glad the Government seems to be finally coming around to the Fine Gael view that the plan set out three years ago cannot be implemented in the timeframe or manner announced. I was finance spokesperson when the Minister's predecessor came into the House to discuss his budget but he refused to accept the above when I put it to him. I am glad the Government now seems to realise the decentralisation programme set out three years ago, while welcome and which must be part of ensuring the development of the BMW and other regions outside Dublin and its hinterland, cannot be implemented as announced.

It is imperative something is done to further develop the indigenous tourism sector in the BMW region. The tourism policy review group did not take account of specific regional strategies, which would have clear benefits. I mentioned Donegal earlier but there are other counties in the BMW region which have obvious advantages which should be taken into account.

The greatest failure of the Government in terms of fulfilling its objectives in all regions, including the BMW region, is in the area of telecommunications. Massive chunks of the country, including huge areas in the BMW regions, do not have access to broadband. I am sure Senators on all sides could list areas in their constituencies in which there are significant problems in terms of access to broadband. I urge the Minister and the Government to ensure broadband becomes a reality in rural areas, especially in the BMW region. If we are to see key economic development in that region in the future, we must ensure businesses which are there and which wish to locate there have broadband at their disposal.