Unless the Government acts immediately to improve road, power and telecommunications infrastructure in the west of Ireland a technical and communications gap will develop that will be impossible to bridge, according to a report published today.
The Western Development Commission report concludes that "the situation is sufficiently serious to warrant radical and dramatic action". It warns that the western region is continuing to fall further behind and that deregulation of power and telecommunications markets will worsen this regional divide.
The State of the West: Recent Trends and Future Prospects deals with Cos Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon, Galway and Clare.
It warns that unless there is immediate Government intervention, privately-owned power and telecommunications providers, operating under free market principles, will continue to service the most populated areas where they can make the greatest profits.
Despite the huge sums of money allocated under the National Development Plan and its aim of balanced regional development, it will fail unless there is a change in Government approach, the WDC says. It calls for a new Government driven strategy to develop infrastructure in the west, operated by two high-level working groups and chaired by senior officials.
These would deal with roads and power/telecommunications.
The chief executive of the Western Development Commission, Mr Liam Scollan, said the commitment in the national plan to foster balanced regional development could not be delivered without a strategic approach by key Government Departments. Otherwise, he said, the result would be "piecemeal and patchwork solutions". These high level groups were needed to focus minds on the west.
The WDC points out that the bulk of investment in infrastructure in the State is going to areas of greatest congestion, which are highly developed, rather than to areas of greatest need.
The 150-page report analyses the disadvantages experienced in large areas of the west. Apart from Galway city and parts of Clare, the region is attracting a tiny share of inward investment, and much of its industrial base is weak and vulnerable.
It stresses that access to and within the region is slow, due to poor road and rail systems. The ageing electricity transmission network cannot provide enough electricity to power new high-energy industries.
Reports and analysis: page 3