Acceleration of a range of infrastructural projects in the south-east has been demanded by business leaders in the region.
In a submission on the National Spatial Strategy, the employer/business group, IBEC South East, says the Government must recognise the special needs of the region if it is not to fall further behind the rest of the State in terms of economic development.
It claims "there is a real risk of economic and political neglect of the region because of the focus and concentration on the BMW [Border midlands west] region and the Dublin/Belfast corridor".
The submission outlined how the south-east, which before Ireland's accession to the EU was "at least keeping up with the rest of the State", had since "fallen well behind".
CSO figures showed that Wexford and Carlow had incomes 20 per cent below the national average, it said. While purchasing power in the State as a whole grew by 110 per cent between 1973 and 1998, "in Wexford, Kilkenny and Waterford it fell short of this growth by almost one-fifth".
Disposable income had dropped from 92.4 per cent of the State average in 1991 to 89.4 per cent in 1997. Regional population projections published in June suggested that the population of the region would grow by less than 1 per cent in the next 35 years.
However, many of the "building blocks" for development were in place with the existence of a regional airport, Waterford Port, third-level institutes and a strong industrial presence, the submission says. It calls on the Government to accelerate construction of the second river crossing in Waterford, not due to be open until 2005, and the upgrading of the region's roads network. The N9/N10 dual carriageway linking Waterford to Dublin is not due to be completed until 2007.
IBEC is also strongly in favour of using Waterford as a gateway to regional development.