Collins sets out priority areas for spending over six years

Ireland's new National Development Plan 2000 to 2006 will cost in the region of £20 billion, compared to the £3 billion the State is to receive over the next seven years from the European Union, according to Fianna Fail MEP Mr Gerry Collins.

Addressing the annual conference of the Mid-West Regional Authority in Co Clare today, Mr Collins will say the State is well placed to redress regional imbalances in funding which exist and ensure all areas have access to the funds necessary to implement regional development objectives.

However, Mr Collins says deficiencies in our road, water treatment, regional airport and transport-related networks represent a significant barrier to our continued economic progress.

Arguing that compared to our European counterparts, the Republic's infrastructure is underdeveloped, Mr Collins says the areas where money must be spent post-1999 have been carefully analysed by the Fitzpatrick Report and the Economic and Social Research Institute.

A number of these areas have already been identified by the MEP. They include:

Completing development of the national primary road network by 2005 to a standard which will permit an inter-urban travel speed of 80 km per hour to be achieved;

Upgrading water treatment services in accordance with urban waste water treatment regulations of 1994, by 2005.

Continued support for mainline rail links, key State airports, the regional airport network as well as commercial and regional ports.

Digitalisation of telecommunications networks.

Completion of the rural information technology installation programme for post offices as well as upgrading regional mail centres.

According to Mr Collins, these are all key areas which must be addressed in the forthcoming National Development Plan.

The new regional authorities which are currently being prepared by the Department of the Environment are ideally placed, Mr Collins says, to identify suitable projects which could be funded by public/private partnerships.

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the EU Commissioner for Regional Policy and Cohesion, Ms Monika Wulf-Mathies, told The Irish Times yesterday that whatever authorities were set up "would have to have the capacity to plan, implement and control project funding and show that funds had been used to good function."