The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, has said he does not agree the National Development Plan (NDP) is failing in its stated aim of achieving balanced regional development despite being told the latest CSO figures show an "ever-widening gap" in economic performance between the regions.
Mr Ahern was responding to questions after opening the new offices of the Border, Midlands and Western (BMW) Regional Assembly in Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon, yesterday.
At the opening, the chairman of the assembly, Mr Joe Digan, said details of the infrastructure deficits in the region had already been provided to the Taoiseach and senior officials.
"I would like to take this opportunity to bring to the Taoiseach's attention the ever-widening gap in economic performance between the regions in Ireland, as detailed in the CSO report," Mr Digan said.
Mr Ahern, in answering question from the media, said CSO figures released yesterday showed employment in the BMW region was "growing far greater" than in the south and east. These figures showed employment in the BMW region grew last year by 2.8 per cent as opposed to 2.2 per cent in the rest of the State, he said. He said the Government was committed to ensuring these developments continued.
Mr Ahern said there was "reason for celebration" because the BMW region already had significant economic success in comparison with other Objective One regions in the EU.
"It has had the fifth-highest increase in GDP per capita of all the 211 regions in the EU over the period 1997-99," he said. In 1999 the BMW region was at 83 per cent of EU average GDP.
Mr Digan had pointed out that while the BMW region as a whole was no longer below the 75 per cent GDP threshold for Objective One status, it had to be emphasised that some counties, particularly in the Midlands, still were.
When asked how the Government was implementing the State of the West report, which was published last July by the Western Development Commission and which warned that the gap between east and west was widening, Mr Ahern said: "We are doing that under the NDP, we are doing that under Clár, we are doing it through the Government departments".
The report from the WDC, a State agency, said provisions under the NDP were not enough in themselves and called for the urgent establishment of two high-level groups of civil servants to push through infrastructure improvements in the west.