West/northwest region receives breadcrumbs at capital infrastructure table - Mayo councillor
THE recent report by the Northern and Western Regional Assembly (NWRA) is damning in terms of the lack of balanced regional development in the west and northwest region in Ireland, says Mayo Aontú Councillor Paul Lawless.
The research found that the region is on par with the least well-off areas of Europe in terms of infrastructure. Infrastructure such as transport, health, education, housing and energy is languishing far below that of its counterparts in Ireland and across the continent.
The region, he said, receives 'breadcrumbs' at the capital infrastructure table.
Said Councillor Lawless: “I welcome the findings in the report and call on the government to take steps to implement the recommendations without delay, particularly the policy of ‘positive discrimination’ for this region.
“The creation of a Ministry of Regional Development should also be prioritised.
“Many of the proposals in the report are issues I have been campaigning on for many years. Indeed, I recall my first radio interview highlighting the consequences of the lack of balanced regional development as my senior football training for Aghamore was held midweek in Athlone to accommodate the Dublin based players.”
The report, he said, presents an opportunity to review transport infrastructure in the region.
“This is timely in light of the N17 Knock to Collooney road proposals and the spree of fatalities on the N17. The need to upgrade the route to a motorway is critically important for the development of the economic growth of the region and for the health and safety of motorists,” said Councillor Lawless.
“The existing single carriageway N17 in the Claremorris region is statistically the most dangerous stretch of road in the country with an ever increasing number of fatalities. Developing another single carriageway with ample junctions would be a mistake and no doubt result in increased fatalities.
“I am also calling on the government to commit to the extension of the Western Rail Corridor to Claremorris, Knock Airport and on to Collooney. The upgrade of the road network to a motorway and the reestablishment of the Western Rail Corridor would rejuvenate the region. It would also help reach our climate targets and build an all-Ireland economy.”
He continued: “This region has been given breadcrumbs at the capital infrastructure table for too long. According to the NWRA report, the Northern and Western Region has received less than 10% of total investment in infrastructure projects and less than 6% of large infrastructure investment projects (in excess of €20 million) since 2016. The lack of investment in the west has resulted in the development of a city state and exacerbated severe service pressures in the capital.
“Successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments have used European and Irish money to disproportionately boost an overheated Dublin bubble. The failure to build an all-Ireland economy has had devastating human consequences for the people of the regions and Dublin alike. It is time for us to address the infrastructure deficit of the West and Northwest.
“The creation of a city state and sprawling commuter belt is the result of an inability of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to forward plan. It was the then Minister for Transport, Leo Vardkar, who removed the West and Northwest off the TEN-T funding program (an EU infrastructure funding programme).
“The people of Mayo and surrounding counties must unite to demand the government to enact the recommendations of this report as a matter of urgency.
“With an election looming we have the ear of government politicians. If this election passes without solid commitments, it will leave the west off the capital infrastructure agenda as they have done for so long.”