THE WEST NEEDS A MINISTER TO ACT
SLIGO MEP Marian Harkin has voiced concerns that the Government’s lack of investment in the Western Development Commission as exposed in a damning letter from its current Chairman is indicative of a plan to either subsume the WDC into another body or do away with it altogether.
Former Fine Gael Councillor Paddy McGuinness last week asked the Minister for Rural Affairs Mayo TD Michael Ring not to re- appoint him as Chair in protest at the lack of a “credible” Government plan to halt rural decline.
“It gives you some idea of the frustration he must feel. It shows what’s going on and not going on,” said MEP Harkin.
“The foot dragging over capital expenditure is being used as an excuse not to ensure the WDC continues to operate,” she told The Sligo Champion.
“Maybe there’s a plan somewhere to subsume the WDC into some other body or get rid of it altogether.
“An organisation cannot continue to operate without resources. “I was there when John Bruton announced the WDC in the late 1990s. The money that came, was never anything like what was promised on the day,” she said.
“We felt that finally we had in place an organisation that would make a real difference but the level of funding never materialised,” said the Independent MEP.
Marian dismissed the ¤ 20million fund for rural Ireland this year as “piece meal stuff ” in comparison to the ¤ 100million already spent on the National Maternity Hospital.
“The WDC needs the ear of a Government Minister with authority, who doesn’t have to answer to five senior Ministers. Who will not just listen but act. It’s about influence.
“Until we have a senior Ministry to look after regional development we have nothing. Window dressing is a waste of money and achieves nothing.”