An £8.4 billion draft strategy to address the east-west economic imbalance is due to be presented to the western and midland regional authorities today.
The draft plan, which will be presented to the Border regional authorities tomorrow, is one of two strategies aimed at making the most of the next round of EU structural funds.
The two plans - one for the western, Border and midland counties, and one for the eastern and southern region - will form the basis of a submission by the eight regional authorities to a revised national development plan to be drawn up by the Government later this year.
Compiled by Fitzpatrick and Associates, economic consultants, of Dublin, the strategy for the west, Border and midlands embraces the 15 counties favoured by the Government to retain Objective 1 status.
This 15-county proposal has already been rejected by Eurostat, and negotiations are continuing in Brussels.
The regional authorities strategy is one of several already prepared in advance of the EU structural fund decision, including a recent ESRI report and last week's study by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM).
The BIM study made the case for doubling structural fund and State investment in the marine sector, thus increasing employment by 20 per cent in peripheral areas where opportunities for employment are very limited.
The draft strategy for the west, Border and midlands aims to tackle the economic gap between east and west, and to attract inward investment through support for stronger regional growth centres.
Thus, the model of Galway should be matched by Sligo and Athlone, it says, through increased population targets and improved infrastructure, and the institutes of technology in both towns should be upgraded to university status.
It also recommends that Castlebar in Co Mayo, Letterkenny in Co Donegal and Tralee in Co Kerry be targeted for development as regional centres, thus doubling the population in each urban area within the next 10 to 15 years.
The plan highlights the need for investment in road, rail and telecommunications, and the development of a western corridor route from Sligo to Limerick. It proposes that a network of business and enterprise centres be established in smaller towns, to provide a "soft support" for local initiatives.
It lays great emphasis on the need for off-farm employment, which would allow part-time farmers to remain on the land while commuting to alternative employment.
The strategy does not seek to establish further agencies or layers of bureaucracy in a very cluttered local administrative sector.
The plan lays out the economic disparities between east and west, with gross value added per capita in the west currently at £8,148, compared with an annual £12,313 per capita in the east.
In earmarking £8.4 billion as the EU and Exchequer budget for 2000 to 2006, it seeks to more than double existing capital payments under the EU cohesion and structural funds.
