Business leaders in the south-east are preparing to put inter-county rivalry behind them and back a report which seeks to unify regional interests. Politicians, however, appear less likely to put their weight behind the Strategy Waterford task force study, which proposes that Waterford city be promoted as the gateway to economic development in the region.
The study, reported on this page last week, seeks to address the lack of a unified regional identity which has been identified widely in the south-east as a barrier to progress. It is at that point, however, that consensus tends to break down in the region. Whenever action is proposed, sectional interests take over and county colours take precedence.
At the launch of the Strategy Waterford's report, "Vision 2011 - Linking Waterford and its Partners", the chairman of the group, Mr Nicky Fewer, expressed confidence the study would not founder on the rock of inter-county enmity.
The initial political reaction from Wexford, however, has been hostile. At a special county council meeting to discuss the county's jobs crisis, as reported in the Wexford People, the Labour deputy leader, Mr Brendan Howlin, said Wexford would end up as a dormitory town if Waterford had its way.
The Strategy Waterford report proposes the creation of a "Waterford economic zone" in which the city would be developed as a regional gateway.
"Clonmel, Dungarvan, Kilkenny and Wexford would be developed as hubs which would in turn benefit the smaller towns in the Waterford economic zone, e.g. Carrick-on-Suir, New Ross, Thomastown and Tramore."
Referring to the report, Mr Howlin said: "We don't want to be a dormitory town servicing an industrial heart of the south-east in Waterford. It has already happened in relation to our hospital services."
There was also a negative response at the meeting to a proposal in the Strategy Waterford report to combine the ports of Rosslare, New Ross and Belview, near Waterford city. Mr Hugh Byrne, Fianna Fáil Minister of State, said it would be preferable if Rosslare and New Ross retained their own identities.
Mr Fewer, however, regarded the response in Wexford as "positive" because it signalled "the opening of a debate", he told The Irish Times. It was unarguable that Waterford alone had the "critical mass" to be the gateway for the south-east and this was supported by the National Spatial Strategy and the National Development Plan. However, this did not prevent other urban centres from developing core industries.
Business representatives in south Tipperary, Kilkenny and Wexford offered support for this view, albeit with qualifications. Ms Maureen McNamara, director of Clonmel Chamber of Commerce, said Waterford was a "natural gateway" and the report had been positively received locally.
Her Wexford counterpart, Ms Emer Lovett, said the south-east had been overlooked by successive governments and there was an incorrect perception that it was a wealthy region. Any initiative to improve regional co-operation was welcome and it was up to Wexford to ensure that progress did not come at its expense.
Ms Alison McGrath, the executive director of Kilkenny Chamber of Commerce, said while they had no objection in principle to the direction suggested by Strategy Waterford, they had many concerns with the document, for example the prospect of Waterford "amassing too great a proportion of future developments in the south-east".
Mr Fewer said a scaled-down Strategy Waterford team would meet next week to begin the process of winning support.