Report urges development outside east coast

Action is needed to ensure Ireland's Atlantic seaboard is not left behind by the expansion of Dublin and the East Coast, a new report on regional development has warned.

According to the report of the Atlantic Gateways project, the cities of Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford should work together to act as a counterbalance to Dublin's growth.

The report finds that the combined economies of these four urban centres is only slightly smaller than that of the Greater Dublin Area.

But it warns that "decisive steps" will be need to ensure Ireland is not dominated by the Greater Dublin Area in the coming decades.

Creating an Atlantic corridor in addition to that on the East Coast would, the report says, create "a wider range of areas on the island where economic opportunity, services and environmental quality are to the highest standards."

The report, which was published in Galway today by Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government Dick Roche, concludes that early delivery of improved transport links as outlined in the Government's Transport 21 strategy, will be the key to success for the Atlantic Gateways project.

Achieving critical mass along the West and South coasts would "ensure better and more sustainable economic development in the Atlantic cities and their hinterlands," the Minister said.

The Atlantic Gateways project was founded as part of the Government's National Spatial Strategy to foster co-operation between these four cities and aid regional development.

It is being undertaken in partnership between the Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government, the relevant regional authorities and Shannon Development.