The two Fianna Fáil TDs who were expected to "deliver" for the west in the election are not expecting any special rewards when the Taoiseach announces his Cabinet this week.
Only the election of so many Independents, including three strong candidates in Connacht, may change this situation in their favour.
It isn't just the failure to return a third Fianna Fáil candidate in Galway West that has both the Minister for the Marine, Mr Frank Fahey, and the Minister of State for Rural Development, Mr Eamon Ó Cuív, in "trouble".
The loss of Dr Tom Moffatt's seat in Mayo, the election of the Independent, Mr Paddy McHugh (who had sought a Fianna Fáil nomination) in Galway East, and the return of fellow Independents, Dr Jerry Cowley in Mayo and Ms Marian Harkin in Sligo-Leitrim, are all factors which may influence the Taoiseach's selection when it comes to geography.
If either of the two is chosen for Cabinet, it is expected to be Mr Fahey, given Mr Ó Cuív's independent stance on the Nice Treaty. His approach did him no harm at all with his voters on May 17th, as he topped the poll with the highest first-preference vote ever in Galway West.
But if there is one clear message to Fianna Fáil, it is that it is perceived to be paying only lip service to rural development.
Mr Ó Cuív's programme (or Clár) for rural regeneration was presented as the answer to rural decline and the growing east-west economic divide after last year's Western Development Commission report. Critics say it has not proved to be such so far; one of them being Ms Marian Harkin, a former Council for the West chairwoman. But Mr Ó Cuív argues that it did make a difference during the election.
"If you look at counties with big Clár-designated areas, like Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan, Monaghan, east Galway and Clare, they all gave a kick and said "Ignore us at your peril", and this was reflected in the votes for Marian Harkin, Dr Cowley, the performance of Independent Una Quinn who did quite well in Longford-Roscommon, and the election of Paddy McHugh in Galway East who has also been vocal on areas being neglected," Mr Ó Cuív says.
"Luckily for our party, it was the opposition that suffered more, apart from in Co Clare, and this must be due to the introduction of the Clár programme."
Mr Ó Cuív does not believe that Fine Gael's proposal of a "minister for the west" is the answer, partly because he sees rural decline as affecting a far broader geographical spread than just the western seaboard.
"It is right across the country and can only be tackled in a meaningful way when we redefine the problem. Areas of overgrowth and areas of decline are creating problems for each other, and the challenge is to approach this in a way that involves every minister, as Clár has already done to an extent."
Meanwhile, approaches have already been made to several Departments in relation to the creation of a new department of transport. Endorsed in a report for the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources, it was also the subject of the Fianna Fáil manifesto.
However, it is understood that while the maritime transport division in the marine Department is preparing to move, if requested, the Department of Arts, Heritage, the Gaeltacht and the Islands is unhappy with proposals to pass over responsibility for Gaeltacht roads and piers.
The whole planning debate with which Mr Ó Cuív was associated before the election has also taken a another turn with the creation of a new organisation.
The Irish Rural Dwellers' Association aims to lobby specifically on the issue of spatial policy, and to articulate planning concerns in rural areas. It also wants to ensure that the main stakeholders are "properly consulted" about the formation of rural policies.
The association's acting secretary can be contacted at the Irish Rural Dwellers' Association, Kilbaha, Kilrush, Co Cláre, or telephone 065-9058034 (work) and 065-9058229 (home).