James Carroll (Fianna Fail)

The implementation of the national spatial strategy is extremely important for the country and the regions and for County Louth from where both I and Senator Dearey come. Great work has been carried out on improvements in infrastructure, transport and on creating sustainable development and economic growth in Louth, but often we wish some elements were done in a different way. It is time we are seen in the international arena as supporting innovation, knowledge and entrepreneurship across the regions and that Dublin is not seen as a kind of hoover that sucks in much of the economic activity without giving out much of it.

I am passionate about and intend to work on the quality of life issue. When I was working in Dublin, I found that having to sit on the floor of the train daily as I travelled up and down to work did not offer much quality of life. This is not the type of legacy we want to leave to others working in Dublin or other regions. Drogheda, my home town, lies along the Dublin-Belfast economic corridor and has been identified as a primary development centre. As mentioned, such titles, whether gateways, hubs or primary development centres, were applied to towns to make them feel loved. However, if the town was not given gateway status, the title actually took away from the effectiveness of the national spatial strategy.

Senator Dearey referred to the Northern Ireland development plan, but I would like to focus on the greater Dublin area regional planning guideline. This plan covered the region as far as the border with Louth but then stopped. The national spatial strategy gave Dundalk gateway status and then we had the Northern Ireland development plan. These three plans affect the north east, but while they are back to back with each other, they are not integrated and all take different directions. This takes away from the development of the north eastern region. The Louth economic forum, with which I had some interaction as a councillor and more interaction since I joined the Seanad, is developing a nine-point plan for the creation of sustainable jobs in County Louth. The forum has focused on the point that Drogheda has a greater population catchment range within 60 km than any other part of the country, even greater than that of Dublin. This should be highlighted.

I am concerned that otherwise Drogheda will just become a dormer town for the Dublin metropolitan area and miss out on the sense of self-sufficiency it should have due to its high population base and other important advantages. I fear that Drogheda, as the largest provincial town in the country, will be squashed in between two or three plans and will not be integrated into any of those plans. Both I and Drogheda councillor Frank Maher feel that Drogheda should be incorporated into the greater Dublin area regional planning guideline and I urge the Minister of State to take that message back to the Minister, Deputy Gormley, and the Minister of State, Deputy Finneran. If we continue along the path of keeping the plan to Dublin because it has Dublin in its name, we will miss out. As Senator Dearey said, even when we look at the plans for Dundalk and the Border area, a hospital, school or shopping centre may not be incorporated into the region's plan just because it is on one side or other of the Border. These areas lose out as a result. The Drogheda city status campaign is being launched tonight. I got into trouble for saying at a public meeting that if Drogheda is granted city status and nothing else happens, then it would be a missed opportunity. City status would benefit Drogheda and the national spatial strategy is essential in this regard. While I look forward to attending the launch of the city status campaign website tonight and give it my full support, I want to see meat on the bones rather than just a website being launched without any follow-up.

As other Senators said, gateway status was announced in 2002 as being the panacea for many towns and cities. Politicians at local and national level were all hoping to have their area included as this status would allow for regional development. Dublin is such a powerful weight on the east coast that it could almost topple Ireland into the Irish Sea. The western and southern areas are missing out as a result with regard to the spatial strategy. Some radical action needs to be taken, even considering moving the capital city to the other side of the country. I do not mean that Dublin should be penalised but investment should be focused on enhancing the west coast, Galway, Athlone and Limerick to create true national regional development. I have passionate views on this subject with regard to my own area.

I said at the meeting in Dundalk last Monday night that Ireland's agriculture, tourism and heritage sectors were its great strengths. I refer to the Annagassan Viking find which shows that the north east could be transformed by this find. Drogheda is missing out on opportunities to make it a tourism hub. We should look at what we can do ourselves rather than complaining that a Minister is based in another town or area. I have invited the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, Deputy Mary Hanafin, to visit County Louth at the end of November to see how tourism can be developed. The Minister is planning the development of walking trails and the north east is one of the most beautiful parts of the country. I welcome the additional funding announced today by the Taoiseach and the county enterprise boards throughout the country to develop micro-tourism and micro-businesses. We need to focus on these areas.

Older business people are inclined to avoid the smart economy but the challenge for all politicians is to explain what is meant by the term. It means working more efficiently and in a smarter way, whether it is the business person dealing more effectively with waste management or the farmer managing the work of milking or dealing more efficiently with energy use and costs. It may be a case of considering other suppliers as competition has delivered great price savings. When I opened a constituency office I moved to another electricity provider and made a significant saving. We also need to re-examine local rates because many rates were struck at a time when prices were high.

Senator Dearey and I were county councillors when the Louth County Council development plan was drawn up. Drogheda Borough Council held its meetings every Monday to try to tie down the plan. These development plans are a realistic effort at regional development. My main point is that we have to look at the greater Dublin area regional development plan and guidelines, the national spatial strategy and the Northern Ireland development plan. They should all be overlapping rather than all going in different directions.