Plan envisages £22bn spending on two regions

A blueprint for the spending of £22 billion over the next six years, known as the Fitzpatrick Report, was presented by members of the Irish Regional Authorities to the Minister for Finance at Government Buildings yesterday.

The blueprint envisages the creation of two new regional authorities in line with the division of the State into two regions for European funding.

The regions are the Border, Midlands and West Region which retains Objective 1 status and the Southern and Eastern Region, the status of which is Objective 1 in Transition. The Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, is to bring forward legislation to give effect to the new regional authorities before the Dail summer recess.

According to yesterday's submission to the Minister, the £22 billion national development plan should be divided between the regions, with 65 per cent or £14.3 billion going to the Southern and Eastern Region.

The Fitzpatrick Report envisages the creation of new cities or regional growth centres at Sligo and Athlone to complement existing regional growth centres at Galway, Limerick, Cork and Waterford. The State has just one city of European size, Dublin, which is the national growth centre.

There will also be smaller growth centres at Tralee, Castlebar and Letterkenny.

For the Border, Midlands and Western Region (BMW), the objective is to bring the standard of living in line with that in the more populated and wealthier south and east of the State. This is to be achieved by investment in infrastructure and services, urban and village renewal, social supports and industrial development.

Road improvements include the upgrading of the Ardee, Co Louth to Nenagh, Co Tipperary road (N52) as a cross-radial route, linking the proposed growth at Athlone with the Dublin-Belfast route and in the south the Limerick-Shannon-Cork route. Investment in the railways should involve reopening some of the closed lines and refurbishing existing ones. Building an industrial hub around Knock Airport should also be considered.

In agriculture, the report says farm diversification should be encouraged, as should dairy hygiene and the promotion of forestry. Capital investment is proposed in fishery harbours and processing and ancillary activity.

It is suggested that high-tech industries be attracted to Galway, Sligo, Athlone and Castlebar, with particular emphasis on the development of third-level institutions, a skilled labour pool and access to air services.

Business centres should be established in county towns with investment in small and medium-sized enterprises. Athlone or Sligo should be designated as a State centre for electronic commerce with the provision of high-quality communications.