Regional development:Regional Development in the National Development Plan 2007-2013 concentrates on nine "gateways identified under the National Spatial Strategy".
Resources for public transport, housing, water services, roads and communications are to be targeted on the gateways and a secondary series of growth "hubs".
The gateways are Dublin, Waterford, Limerick/Shannon, Galway, Sligo, Letterkenny/Derry, and Dundalk.
The new development plan envisages massive investment of €33 billion in transport infrastructure to improve access to these gateways. Recognising the need for regional employment, an initial fund of €300 million is to be provided from 2008-2010 to foster innovation. This is in addition to the work of the State's development agencies.
Key plan interventions to assist in attracting private sector investment and employment and so achieving balanced regional development, include the extension of broadband in all regional areas, particularly where it would otherwise be uneconomic.
Other key interventions include major investment in non-national roads and rural water services, a €90 million rural transport initiative and major investment under Leader and Rural Economy programmes.
Mr Cowen said the approach was to develop sustainable settlement patterns which were not based on commuting. The objective was to reduce the distance people must travel to work, services and leisure facilities and to maximise use of investment in each of the gateway areas.
Mr Cowen insisted the strategy would support urban as well as rural communities and fostering employment and development in regional gateways would not be done at the expense of the "rural economy".
He said the "broad objective" was to "sustain the continuing process of growth and diversification in the rural economy through enhanced accessibility, communications and infrastructure. . . in areas such as local enterprise and services and tourism and natural resource sectors".
However, much of Mr Cowen's plan for balanced regional development was also contained in the National Development Plan 2000-2006. This is most starkly illustrated by the fact that the first four of the seven years of the new plan will be spent completing road works contained in the first plan.
The new plan for regional development differs from the old in that the emphasis on regional authorities, and super regional authorities now appears to have been shelved. Those in the Border, Midlands and Western Region were promised a plan to bring disadvantaged regions into line with the more advantaged regions of the South and East. That did not happen. In some cases the gap widened.
Now balanced regional development is being proposed through the series of regional gateways and hubs. But yesterday's announcements look more like a plan to complete a plan, than the "second transformation" promoted.
Cost overruns in the last plan were glossed over, but we now know the Taoiseach's €8 billion roads programme will cost at least €28 billion.
Following access to the regions, the next step in balanced regional development is to provide employment and so discourage commuting.
In this Mr Cowen is to be complimented for the fund to drive innovation. But if the plan delivers access by 2010, the next big question is, "are there jobs there"?