The chairman of the Western Development Commission, Mr Michael Farrell, said he was "staggered" by the recommendation of the Estimates Review Committee that it should be abolished.
As reported in yesterday's Irish Times, the review committee identified abolition of the state body as one in a series of measures which could be taken by the Minister for Finance to cut spending. It also recommended scrapping the Irish Film Board and rationalising regional fisheries boards, along with merging the marketing activities of Bord Bia, Enterprise Ireland and Bord Glas.
However, the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Mr Ó Cuív, said no decision on the Western Development Commission will be taken until a review of its activities is completed in two to three months. Reviews of the commission and Údarás na Gaeltachta were commissioned by Mr Ó Cuív after he took office earlier this year.
"The final decision will be based on that review," a spokeswoman for the Minister said yesterday. "Other recommendations will be taken into consideration."
Mr Farrell said he would be seeking an immediate meeting with the Minister. "We are perfectly clear about the need for the Western Development Commission and the extremely important role it plays in driving national policy to respond to the needs of the western region, and in spearheading a range of regional development initiatives in sectors such as rural tourism, renewable energy and others relevant to western development."
Mr Farrell emphasised the commission's importance in the context of the National Spatial Strategy and the National Development Plan. "The spatial strategy emphasis on the development of gateways in the south and east to compete against the greater Dublin area means there is a particular role for the Western Development Commission to ensure that the west achieves the growth envisaged in the strategy."
The commission was set up in 1997 to promote economic and social development in seven western counties: Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Leitrim, Donegal, Sligo and Clare.