The Council for the West has initiated a campaign to ensure that the Government will provide a fair share of investment in the west's infrastructure.
The Fair Share campaign is timed to coincide with Government approval of expenditure on infrastructure over and above what is already committed under the National Development Plan (NDP).
The council expects the Minister for Transport to seek Cabinet approval for further funding, estimated at €3.2 billion, for infrastructure in the Dublin area, Mr Seán Hannick, chairman of the Council for the West, said yesterday.
"While the council welcomes this expenditure increase, it is seeking the support of Government to ensure that infrastructural projects in the Border, Midlands and Western (BMW) region are given equal status by allocating matching pro rata funds of €1.61 billion."
The council says planned NDP spending on the BMW region's infrastructure was under target by 14 per cent towards the end of last year. Road spend was only 62.8 per cent of the figure forecast, while expenditure on roads in the south and east was 143 per cent of forecast, it says.
"The BMW region requires additional, not reduced, Government investment due to its Objective One status and, at this point, we would argue that €1.61 billion is the minimum extra allocation of funds necessary," Mr Hannick said. Additional expenditure would "help ensure that the west would not continue to be at a disadvantage when competing in the global and national economic marketplace".
It would also "give credence to the Government's 'balanced regional development' policy, which serves the national interest".
Business and community sectors had been calling for the additional monies, while State agencies such as the IDA and Enterprise Ireland had said they would continue to experience great difficulty in attracting jobs and enterprise to areas which did not have good transport and energy infrastructures, he added.
Fishing industry organisations, meanwhile, have welcomed the appointment of the Donegal South West TD, Mr Pat The Cope Gallagher, to the post of Minister of State for the Marine.
The Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation said it was "delighted". The Irish South and West Fishermen's Organisation said it also welcomed the move, although it would prefer the marine portfolio to be a stand-alone ministry.
