Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the report from the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, which calls for greater investment in second-tier cities. It mentions the western seaboard and how city regions on the western corridor can be an economic counterbalance to Dublin. This is most important because Dublin is so busy that there is huge potential in linking up the cities of Limerick, Galway and Cork, to counterbalance Dublin and the eastern side of the country. Growth in Dublin is predicted to be over 50%, whereas it will be approximately one quarter of that in the three other cities. It is important that this be considered in the national planning framework to make the country regionally balanced.