The State was in danger of "capsizing the country" if it continued to invest heavily in Dublin infrastructure at the expense of the regions, a conference on rural development heard today.
Policy manager at the Western Development Commission (WDC) Dr Patricia O'Hara told delegates: "The more investment and resources that the Greater Dublin Area takes up, the more Dublin will dominate the economy, attracting more industry and people to the GDA and causing even more congestion."
Dr O'Hara warned that "without substantial investment in enabling infrastructure and other supports that can be absolutely justified on the basis of their spatial impact, the regions will fall further behind".
She said: "We're in danger of tilting the country's infrastructure so much towards Dublin that the rest of the country will fall into the capital.
"Solving Dublin's problems cannot be at the expense of the regions; rather, enabling the regions to prosper will serve national goals and add to the welfare of those living in the GDA," she added.
She said: "One of the difficulties with taking regional issues into account in decision-making on public spending is that the electoral system is organised spatially so that quite sensible initiatives for regional development tend to be judged in terms of their perceived 'political' rather than spatial impact."
The government decentralisation programme, and investment in the Western Rail Corridor, both of which will bring substantial benefits to regional towns, are cases in point, she added
Dr O'Hara was addressing a conference entitled "Rural Development - A Time of Transition" in Croke Park in Dublin.
