Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

I know this hurts Senator Mansergh. A golden opportunity for regional and national planning was missed in spatial development and decentralisation over the past ten years. If we are going to create new hubs of economic activity away from the east coast, thereby creating better regional development, it is essential that the Government must select a few areas and concentrate development there to increase capacity and drive economic growth. The Government however, like a super county council, cannot decide where it wants to put those economic centres. The former Minister for Finance, Mr. McCreevy, said that if he could not develop this by December 2006 he did not deserve to be re-elected. The Government has implemented 10% of its promise, another gross incompetence.