The Border Midlands and Western (BMW) region has received just 14 per cent of an EU cohesion fund of €803 million, European Commissioner for Regional Policy Danuta Hübner was told at a conference in Athlone.
The money was used since 2000 for the improvement of railways, roads, air access, waste-water treatment plants and other infrastructure-related projects.
Independent MEP Marian Harkin told Prof Hübner the Government had qualified for the money "because figures for the BMW region brought the whole country back far enough to qualify".
However, she said instead of the bulk of the aid going to the disadvantaged BMW region, 79 per cent of it went to the southern and eastern region. Some 7 per cent was accounted for on projects located in both regions.
Ms Harkin clashed with EU officials who said the cohesion fund "did not represent the whole picture".
While they accepted that there had been a slow start to investment in the BMW region, the cohesion fund was always going to spend more in the southern and eastern region as the projects it covered, such as the national roads programme, were mainly based in that area.
They said a fuller picture would be revealed if all of the structural funding measures, of which the cohesion fund was just one part, were considered. They added that the structural fund amounted to more then €4 billion over the same period.
Prof Hübner, who was in Athlone to give an address and answer questions at a Chambers of Commerce of Ireland seminar on regional policy, said Ms Harkin's statement "was not a question but a comment".
Responding to a question from The Irish Times, Prof Hübner said she was satisfied with the pace and spending of EU funding in the BMW region. "Yes, there are issues, but they are small."
Asked about specific concerns, Prof Hübner said an emerging issue was in relation to increasing productivity and competitiveness.
She told the director of the Midlands Regional Authority that a "major concern" for the future of all less-developed regions was the integration of regional policy with other policies such as research and development.
Minister of State for European Affairs Noel Treacy said the situation in the BMW region was not as bad as was being made out.
He said the Government had set aside €600 million for the development of science-based initiatives.