West must gain from gas find, says forum

Government action will be required if the western region is to reap benefits from the gas find off the Mayo coast, a forum of Ministers from the west and the Western Development Commission has agreed.

This may run counter to the current State approach, and will still require confirmation at Cabinet level. However, the commission's chief executive, Mr Liam Scollan, is confident the region's Ministers now realise that spurs from the gas pipeline - due to be brought ashore in north Mayo - will require State intervention in relation to routes.

Otherwise, the commission fears the consequences of leaving the choice to commercial interests alone. The Department of Public Enterprise had informed it that a "free market" situation would apply on routes, and said the Minister, Ms O'Rourke, had no function in this regard under existing legislation.

The WDC says that pending new legislation to regulate the gas industry will provide a key opportunity to ensure that less populated areas benefit from the energy source.

Further meetings, including a top-level gathering of relevant interests and policy-makers, are to be held with the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Fahey, in the autumn.

The need for a gas-fired power station in the west was also recognised at the forum, which was chaired by the Minister of State for Rural Development, Mr Noel Davern, in Dublin last month.

The forum, with western members of Cabinet and junior counterparts, is part of the WDC remit in endeavouring to highlight, and influence decisions on, issues of critical importance to the region. In doing so, it aims to a make a break with the old system of piecemeal "clientelism"; a point made by its chairman, Mr Sean Tighe, as the commission marks the publication of its first annual review today.

The commission has been running on a statutory basis since February 1st, 1999. It now has Exchequer provision of £25 million for its Western Investment Fund, established to facilitate enterprise, and has approved some of its first projects. Nevertheless, Mr Tighe says in his introduction to the annual review that the commission was very disappointed that the fund did not become operational last year.

The fund was finally approved by the European Commission in April, with the exception of investments in agriculture, food and the marine sectors, which are the subject of separate approval procedures.

Tourism, fisheries, telecommunications and national primary routes were also on the agenda of the recent gathering. The commission's forthcoming blueprint on tourism, expected next month, catalogues 1,000 significant attractions throughout the seven counties.

The WDC has identified seafood as another target area and is currently working with an industry-led steering group on preparing detailed proposals. "The Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources accepted the need for a greater critical mass in shellfish, and for cohesion in relation to processing," Mr Scollan said.

It is expected that the Minister will encourage the WDC to work with Bord Iascaigh Mhara on greater "clustering" to help the industry become more globally competitive.

Telecommunications infrastructure is much improved but is still regarded as a concern by leading industrialists, and the Minister of State for Science and Technology, Mr Noel Treacy, agreed to work on this dimension.

The Minister of State for Health and Children, Dr Tom Moffatt, acknowledged the importance of upgrading the N5 route from Longford to Westport in his constituency of Mayo.

The next forum is due to be held in January, hopefully in the west, by which time key decisions on other sensitive regional issues, such as decentralisation will have been taken by Government.

Mr Tighe believes there is a "palpable atmosphere of confidence and optimism in the west" and thinks the WDC has made some contribution to this.

"To date, the WDC has worked with limited resources, but with unbounded co-operation, to effect policy change at the highest levels and to secure co-ordinated action on the ground," Mr Tighe notes.

"We believe that the co-operation we are achieving is very previous. It is pointing the way to how a relatively small State body can, nonetheless, be effective, by drawing in not just partnership, but also leadership from the voluntary and private sector."

The Western Development Commission annual review 1999 is published today by the commission at Dillon House, Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon. Tel: 0907-61441, fax 0907-61443 and e-mail: info@wdc.ie