The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, today said he believed the National Spatial Strategy (NSS) would cater for all areas once it was under way.
He said that because of the strategic locations of the towns and areas identified for development, the benefits would ultimately trickle down to even the remotest areas. But he admitted many areas would be disappointed by their exclusion from the plan.
At the heart of the plan is the development of the regions outside Dublin over the next 20 years, based on four new "gateways" in addition to the five identified under the National Development Plan three years ago.
By definition, the gateways are principal towns that due to large scale and critical mass will attract investment into the areas they dominate. These gateways will be fed by nine smaller "hubs" that will energise their own immediate areas and link with the larger urban areas.
With a projected rise in population of 500,000 people over the next 20 years, the strategy aims to ensure that that increase is not absorbed into the Greater Dublin Area(GDA).
It is also envisaged that the policy of decentralisation of government departments would continue, although Mr Ahern could not be drawn on the number of civil servants that would be affected.
Moreover, there is no indication as to how the plan will be financed, although Mr Ahern today said it would not be driven by tax incentives. But he indicated a large portion of the €5.2 billion set aside for capital investment next year would be targeted toward the NSS.