West told to abandon `poor mouth approach'

The west must abandon the "poor mouth" approach to EU structural fund investment, and actively seek to attract inward investment, the chairman of the Western Regional Authority, Mr Willie Burke, has said.

Mr Burke, who will attend a presentation in Castlebar, Co Mayo, today of a draft regional plan commissioned for five of the eight regional authorities, defended the thrust of the strategy against criticism from the Council of the West.

The plan did not seek only to strengthen urban areas, but also to encourage creation of off-farm employment initiatives in rural areas, he said.

"This draft is not just about creating two new cities in Sligo and Athlone, and it is not just about foreign investment. We want to create three further regional centres in Tralee, Castlebar and Letterkenny as a counterbalance to Dublin," Mr Burke told The Irish Times.

"These five new centres will have sufficient infrastructure to attract new investment, and will act as development hubs for a 40 mile radius in each case. "This last EU tranche is our last chance to spend wisely, and we don't want a west dependent on headage payments, cheques in the post and social welfare," he said.

The draft strategy is due to be discussed by members of the Western Regional Authority in Castlebar today, and by members of the Midland Regional Authority in Tullamore, Co Offaly.

Representatives of the EU's regional monitoring committee will also attend.

Commenting on criticism by the Council for the West on RTE yesterday in relation to a "centralised" IDA strategy for investment in the regions, an IDA spokesman said that regional policy was a Government matter. However, modern trends and the intense competition for foreign investment meant that certain infrastructural standards were required to attract overseas firms.