Government expenditure on roads in the Border, Midland and Western (BMW) region has more than doubled in the last five years.
An analysis by the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs on outlay for road improvements and allocations by the National Roads Authority (NRA) shows an increase of 127.3 per cent between 2000 and 2005 in the BMW region.
This compares to an increase of 80.51 per cent during the same period in the south and east region, the Minister, Éamon Ó Cuív, said yesterday.
The spend on, and allocation for, roads throughout the State is up by 93.45 per cent during the five-year period.
Money spent or allocated in the seven counties covered by the Western Development Commission is up by 106.10 per cent.
The Minister's analysis comes several weeks after the Mayo Independent TD, Beverley Flynn, claimed that State under-spending in the BMW region had reached close to €2 billion.
Warnings of a widening economic gap between the BMW and south and east regions had already been highlighted by the WDC and the independent lobby group, the Council for the West, shortly after the new round of EU structural funding was secured by the Government.
Only the BMW region of counties in Connacht, Ulster, along with Cos Laois, Longford, Louth, Offaly and Westmeath were entitled to Objective One status funding under the new National Development Plan for 2000 to 2006.
However, Mr Ó Cuív, who is responsible for the WDC, claims that the imbalance is now being rectified and says that the Government is "totally committed to rural and western development".
"The reality of the situation now is that the NRA spend/allocation per capita in the BMW region is €367.84 for 2005. This compares to a per capita spend in the south and east of €275.96, in Ireland as a whole of €300.31 and in the WDC region of €272.29," Mr Ó Cuív said.
"The BMW region is now receiving 32 per cent of the 2005 allocation, as opposed to 22 per cent in 2004 and 13 per cent in 2003," he added.
"For the BMW region, this amounts to a 61.71 per cent increase on last year. Together with the 64.76 per cent increase in the BMW region in the previous year, there is now no doubt that the BMW counties are catching up with the rest of the country," he said.
The Council for the West said it would study Mr Ó Cuív's analysis.
