The Government has been urged to redouble its efforts to secure the competitiveness of the northwest region by putting adequate funding in place to complete its essential infrastructure requirements.
Chairman of the Irish Business and Employers' Confederation (Ibec) Gary McCann added that "at a national level" the whole process of project selection, planning, financing and delivery needed to be reconsidered. "Critical projects must be accelerated and new methods of financing found."
Ibec launched an "urgent" programme this week to revitalise the region. It said the northwest still required massive investment in the road network, cross-Border telecommunications and development of Sligo, Donegal, Knock and Derry airports.
Speed and delivery of existing commitments under the National Development Plan were a cause of "major concern", according to Ibec's northwest spokesman, Dr Jim Hoey.
Dr Hoey said a lack of progress in speed and delivery of the Republic's National Development Plan (NDP) was affecting the ability of businesses to compete and putting jobs at risk.
Dr Hoey called for the fast- tracking of NDP projects including: the outer ring road in Sligo, the reopening of the complete western rail corridor, and development of the Dublin to Letterkenny route.
KEY PRIORITIES: northwest needs