Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

Yesterday, The Irish Times mentioned the reclassification of the country in terms of EU funding from 2007 until 2013. It appears to be good news that counties Carlow and Kilkenny have been included in the area which is being classified as an economic development region and will continue to qualify for regional aid. This is based on factors other than the unemployment criteria as specified by the EU Commission.

I have been blue in the face lately with the impression being given, especially in Dublin, that everything is perfect in Carlow and Kilkenny. My colleagues from the west, including the Acting Chairman, often give the impression that in the west everything is terrible and the rest of the country is flying high.

I have repeatedly raised this point and I thank the CSO for giving us extremely detailed information on its website. The CSO information gives a fair and accurate picture. Even last August, I issued a statement pointing out that in terms of disposable income Carlow-Kilkenny was the poorest constituency, not only in Leinster but across the entire south east, and fell well beneath the national average of disposable income. Kilkenny's income was a mere 88.1% of the national average, while Carlow's was only marginally better, at 88.5%. In terms of total income in 2003, the most recent year for which figures are available, both counties faired appallingly badly, with residents in Carlow earning on average of €19,575 and residents in Kilkenny earning on average €19,396. In the entire country, counties Kerry and Roscommon were the only two counties with lower incomes. It put the lie to the myth that counties Carlow and Kilkenny were flourishing.

This was also reinforced, even earlier in 2004, by a statement I issued based also on disposable incomes, where Carlow was the poorest county in the State outside of the so-called BMW region. At the time, I mentioned that the unemployment figures were rising in the county, which was an unusual trend in comparison to the rest of the country.

It appears, as far as I can make out, that the Government has finally taken stock of the situation concerning counties Carlow and Kilkenny and has included them in the category for economic development. I want the Minister to clarify that for me and also to explain what we can expect as a result of the new classification.