Social partners list development priorities for national plan

A vision of environmentally-clean urban growth centres connected by a good road and rail infrastructure, with fibre optic broadband telecommunications and rapid access to ports and airports, was outlined at a seminar in Dublin yesterday.

Organised by the Department of Finance, the seminar, entitled "Priorities for the National Development Plan 2000-2006", brought together the social partners to debate recommendations for the spending of £22 billion in the period - the largest investment package in the history of the State.

The recommendations of the seminar will now be sent to the Minister for Finance for consideration in the preparation of the National Development Plan.

The recommendations include the establishment of growth centres outside Dublin to counterbalance the centralisation of the State's industrial and social services. The major new growth centres are to be Athlone and Sligo, which are to be developed to city status, with ancillary growth centres at Waterford, Tralee, Castlebar and Letterkenny. Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway will also be expanded.

Among the strategies being considered are an upgraded radial road network, with its centre at Athlone, connecting to the east and west coasts, and a £600 million investment in existing railway lines, as well as the possibility of reinstating some of the closed lines and reopening routes which have been restricted to goods services.

Also being considered are the development of the regional airports and ports, agriculture, forestry and maraculture. The strategies place particular emphasis on the development of telecommunications links to attract high-tech industries.

Mr Tom Parlon, the president of the Irish Farmers' Association, told the seminar that the implications of CAP reform and world trade negotiations were that the efficiency of Irish farms needed to be improved. "This can be achieved by increased capital investment, by attracting new entrants and by upgrading skills through training", he said.

Mr Parlon said that the importance of the discussions to farmers was underlined by the fact that the Rural Environment Protection Schemes and the early retirement schemes for farmers, together with forestry incentives and the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme, were worth over £400 million this year.

For IBEC, Mr Peter Brennan said that "eliminating the infrastructure deficit" should be accorded the highest priority. He indicated that IBEC was receptive to the Government's proposed public/private partnerships. "A vision needs to be articulated that foresees Ireland as one of Europe's most innovative, high value-added, productive, high-quality and highly-skilled economies", he said.

Mr Niall Crowley, of the Community Workers' Co-operative, said it was important to recognise the continuing reality of poverty and exclusion. "The ongoing need is to invest in rebuilding local communities which are seeking to recover from over a decade of mass unemployment."

Mr James Stone, director of the Midland Regional Authority, who spoke on the needs of the Border region, the midlands and the west, said that new planning co-ordination methods were required. He maintained that a combination of county development planning and integrated social and cultural planning at county level would offer "scope for co-ordination".

Mr Tom Kirby, director of the Mid-West Regional Authority, who spoke on the needs of the southern and eastern regions, said that integration was the key concept of successful planning.