Mayo TD spearheading campaign for balanced regional investment

A Mayo TD is spearheading a campaign to place balanced regional development and investment in public transport at the centre of government policy and to be integral in tackling the climate change crisis.

Sinn Féin Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh said the national development plan was to be the litmus test of the government's commitment to regional development.

She elaborated: "I believe that is a test that it has failed. Right now, workers and families are being hit hard by carbon taxes.

"This is not only unfair but also an environmental strategy that will not work. Taxes designed to change behaviour only work when the people have alternatives.

"We need State-led investment in strategic infrastructure for our regions. We have decades of evidence of how successive governments have failed to deliver for rural Ireland, not least the west is categorised by the EU as a region in transition.

"This is not a case of just a political party saying that governments have not delivered for the west. This is being said by the EU also and by many other commentators.

"We desperately need State-led investment in infrastructure but, sadly, we seem to have another Government that is unwilling to lead.

"We have 94,000 km of regional and local roads across the State that provide vital connectivity for, and to, rural Ireland. Yet despite years of empty promises, in Mayo we still do not have delivery on the likes of the N26 and R312.

"I am calling on the government to provide clarity on all projects included in the national development plan, ensuring balanced regional development is prioritised in the delivery of projects.

"I want the government to undertake rural impact assessment of all policies and to prepare a new all-island national aviation policy that recognises the impact the pandemic has had on our regional airports such as Ireland West Airport Knock.

"There is a need to resource Bus Éireann via the National Transport Authority and to ensure there is no curtailment on the intercity Expressway services.

"The government should also urgently deliver key public transport projects.

"Regarding an issue that is very close to my heart as is the case for many people in Mayo and across the west, I am calling specifically on the government to fully commit to the delivery of the western rail corridor extension to Mayo.

"The western rail corridor has become a byword for regional development and investment in the west. Why has the Irish Rail 2040 rail freight strategy not even been released yet?

"That strategy has remained unpublished for almost a year and it is referenced in a number of recent publications, including the terms of reference for the rail review and the draft consultation for the greater Dublin area transport strategy.

"The west will not forgive another government for failing to deliver on this project.

"Not including the project in the NDP is a missed opportunity for the government to show it is committed to regional development in the west."

Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh was speaking in Dáil Éireann last night on a private members motion she tabled.