Sir, - The resignation of Liam Scollan from the post of Chief Executive of the Western Development Commission (WDC) doesn't surprise me. High levels of patience and stamina are needed to withstand the pressures from public institutions with national agendas.
Forty years ago, the late Jim Harman and I, as officials of the Department of Finance, were assigned the task of driving the development of the deprived regions of the West of Ireland. Our strategy was to establish County Development Teams, representative of the different public agencies, to which we appointed professional County Development Officers. The work of the teams was co-ordinated by a Central Development Committee representative of Dublin-based Government agencies having line responsibility for different aspects of economic and social policies.
To assist us in our task, the newly appointed Minister for Finance, Charles Haughey, established a Special Fund for the West to finance projects that did not fit into existing schemes. He also wanted to set up a Western Development Agency with powers similar to those now exercised by the Western Development Commission. However, those responsible for administration of national development opposed the Minister's wish. While Harman and I welcomed the Haughey initiative, the severe difficulties we experienced in co-ordinating efforts aimed at promoting western development amply demonstrated the problems of side-by-side operation of departmental and regional agencies.
The western development issue remained low-key until the beginning of the 1990s when the former Bishop of Galway, Dr Eamon Casey, in association with a number of other western bishops, set up parish "core groups" to encourage local enterprise and generate a groundswell for economic and social progress. As a former EU official, I was asked to seek European Commission funding for a study of the problems of the region. Finance was eventually agreed, despite some opposition from the powers that be in Merrion Street - opposition that was eventually unlocked through the initiatives of Noel Treacy, TD, then Minister of State at the Department of Finance.
The study of the West - "A Crusade for Survival" - was completed in 1994. The report made recommendations covering a wide range of sectors and actions, many of which, including the establishment of an independent agency for the West, were taken on board by the government of the day. It was fortunate that the report appeared just as a new round of the Brussels-funded national development programme was about to be launched. As a result, the West probably got somewhat more money than it might otherwise have received. Moreover, when the next round of Brussels funds came on stream in the late 1990s, it was convenient that the continued existence of poorer rural areas such as the West - the so-called Border, Midland and West region (BMW) - provided an argument for higher rates of EU funding there.
The focus for western development is somewhat different now from that which prevailed when the Crusade study was carried out almost 10 years ago. The major problem then was large-scale emigration. Depopulation continues from the remoter areas, but after the widespread development of the past decade the task now is to provide the infrastructure needed for that development to continue.
Western development now demands the rapid provision of high-quality roads, railways, ports, airports, communications, sanitary services and energy. Their implementation must be tackled as matters of national priority, not only to save the West but also to preserve the fabric of our nation as a whole. We are witnessing the increasing pressure on resources in our major urban centres and their expanding suburban hinterlands. We must try to accommodate the projected increased national population over the next 20 years by taking drastic action to disperse that population and economic activity away from the greater Dublin area. We must dissipate the lunacy of the settlement pattern in which, twice daily, large numbers travel 50 or more miles to and from Dublin. Expansion of our tourist trade also demands that, among other things, we provide easy access to and within the West.
Regional development agencies such as the WDC cannot function effectively if the Government Departments with line responsibility do not co-operate fully.
One of the recommendations in the 1994 Crusade report was for the appointment of a full Cabinet Minister with responsibility to spearhead the programme for the West. It would now be appropriate to apply this recommendation to the current BMW region. The appointee would have the task of driving the development programme and of ensuring that infrastructure projects are implemented more speedily.
For this to happen, it is essential that the Government lay down firm guidelines for regional development to be observed by the implementing Departments in close co-operation with the responsible regional agencies. Unless this becomes a reality, the frustration of the Liam Scollans of this world will continue - Yours, etc.,
Brendan McNamara, Blackrock, Co Dublin.