NSS plan is already threatened by cutbacks
Government cutbacks will undermine its ambitious new plan to disburse growth to areas outside of Dublin, it was claimed last night.
Opposition parties and business leaders said the failure to provide funding for road and rail links will render the National Spatial Strategy meaningless.
The plan to develop regional centres over the next 20 years was launched by the government yesterday. It listed nine cities along with nine smaller regions for development.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern insisted the government had the will and the drive to implement the plan in full, but the business and employers group IBEC said by naming so many towns, the Government was stretching resources too far so there would be no real benefit from the plan.
Slamming the report, IBEC director of enterprise Brendan Butler said that by fudging the issue the government had created major confusion in its approach to balance regional development: “Given the current economic climate it is imperative that the funding is targeted on infrastructure that will have the greatest benefit.”
