The Northern and Western Region has received just 5.7% of investment in infrastructure projects worth more than €20m since 2016 – a key indication of the regional imbalance that industry leaders say is holding the region back.
The Northern and Western Regional Assembly is urging the government to fast-track the delivery of 13 major infrastructure projects in the region after a new study found that the entire area is now on par with the least well-off areas of Europe in terms of infrastructure.
This new research by the NWRA has revealed that investment in transport, health, education, housing and energy infrastructure in the Region is languishing far below that of its counterparts in Ireland and across the continent – with transport infrastructure ranked the 17th worst of 234 European regions.
And to address these infrastructure deficits, the NWRA believes a policy of positive discrimination is needed to deliver regional equality across Ireland and to take pressure off an ever-expanding Greater Dublin Area.
Such a policy, it says, would involve creating a Ministry for Regional Development which would have a significant budget for delivering key infrastructure priorities across the regions.
It points to the fact that many countries – such as Australia, Canada, Japan, France and Brazil – have created ministerial roles specifically focused on addressing regional development inequities. The organisation’s ‘Regional Infrastructure Tracker has for the first time harnessed data from public and private sources.
It reveals that, since 2016, the Northern and Western Region of Ireland has received less than 10% of the nationwide total investment in infrastructure projects worth more than €1m, and just 5.7% of investment from infrastructure projects worth more than €20m, despite accounting for 17.6% of Ireland’s population.
In contrast, the Eastern and Midlands Region of Ireland received 66.5% of investment from projects worth more than €1m, and 75% of those worth more than €20m.
As the Eastern and Midlands Region accounts for less than 50% of the population of Ireland, the NWRA believes the figures reveal an obvious bias towards the Greater Dublin Area.
The NWRA is one of three regional assemblies in Ireland and represents counties Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan, Leitrim, Sligo, Roscommon, Mayo and Galway.
To bridge the growing infrastructure deficit, the NWRA is demanding that the government ringfence more than half of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for the Northern and Western Region of Ireland and prioritise 13 infrastructure projects for the region.
These include the reopening of the Western Rail Corridor from Athenry to Collooney.
The report estimates that the total capital cost of delivering these 13 priority projects would range from €4.8 billion to €6.8 billion, which would deliver transformative benefits in areas of climate action, regional development and the all-island economy, while costing considerably less than the overall cost of the Dublin Metro.
The report also found that patients presenting at Emergency Departments across the Northern and Western Region of Ireland are waiting longer to be admitted or discharged than the national average, with more than half of attendees at Galway University Hospital (51%) waiting more than 12 hours.
And it revealed that 6,950 households are on the waiting list for social housing supports from the Northern and Western Region of Ireland’s local authorities – a number considerably higher than the 1,143 new social housing units produced in the region last year, with below average allocations in each year since 2016.
Denis Kelly, Director with the Northern and Western Regional Assembly, said that the Irish economy needed to grow in a manner that benefits all regions – not just the few.
“Adopting a regional approach for the revised National Planning Framework will be crucial to overcoming these sizeable infrastructure deficits in the Northern and Western Region,” he said.
“Delivering on these 13 priority infrastructure projects will go a long way in achieving this,” he added.
Economist with the Northern and Western Regional Assembly John Daly described it as ‘remarkable’ that the Northern and Western Region of Ireland is in the bottom 20 EU Regions in terms of transport infrastructure.
“With notable underinvestment also evident across the region’s higher education, research, water, road and rail network, it is no surprise to see that regional inequalities in Ireland have continued to rise as population, employment and income growth remains overly concentrated around the Greater Dublin Area,” he said.
“All this considered, the delivery of our 13 priority infrastructure projects – at a cost of between €4.8 to €6.8 billion – represents significant value for money for the State in the long-term, with the delivery of these projects having the potential to rejuvenate our region, while simultaneously supporting our climate targets and growing the all-island economy; all at a cost considerably lower compared to, for example, the latest cost estimates for Dublin Metro,” he added.
Pictured: John Daly, NWRA economist, Cathaoirleach Jarlath Munnelly, NWRA director Denis Kelly and Cllr Niamh Kennedy, Donegal County Council, launching the Regional Infrastructure Tracker for the Northern and Western Region on the N17 Collooney to Ireland West Airport Knock route.
