Sir, - It was, in many ways, heartening to read of the difficulties of Donegal in your Editorial of September 8th. At last it seems possible that something may be done to redress the social and economic difficulties that have bedevilled the county for many years.
Within Donegal, there is a clear dichotomy between the comparatively advanced organic infrastructure and economic development of east Donegal and the deteriorating physical and social infrastructure of west and south-west Donegal. No one could deny that the problems in Fruit of the Loom have potentially catastrophic implications for Inishowen and east Donegal and as such must be tackled with vigour. At the time of writing, however, the only certainty is that the plant in Dungloe will certainly close and that all the workers will lose their jobs. This plant occupies a central and disproportionally large economic role in this small community. Yet we have had no visit from the Tanaiste.
West and south-west Donegal at present resonate more with the Ireland of the 1950s rather than with the Ireland of net immigration and buoyant economic growth. We are trapped by our geography, as the whole of Ireland once was.
You mention that our own regional airport gets, in your words, "no support". It is not the airport that is unsupported, it is that the services that it can provide are inadequate. We need four flights a day to Dublin; at the moment there is one.
Further development of the airport will require central Government support and it will be many years before such support will make obvious economic sense. I believe that a return on investment in the airport will occur long before the benefits of building the burgeoning bypasses of Longford, Mullingar and Naas will accrue to the country.
I see the young of the area leaving, the majority with third-level education, burning with the wish to come home to Donegal to live. If we provide the physical infrastructure, the high value, low volume industry the area needs, they will come home.
Then, Donegal can contribute to national growth and development and no longer be dependent. - Yours, etc., Declan Bonar,
The Medical Centre, Dungloe, Co. Donegal.