The Government is being urged to provide the northern and western regions with a stimulus package of at least €570 million to kickstart development in the area.
The call has been made by the Northern and Western Regional Assembly (NWRA) in a submission to the Department of Finance ahead of Budget 2024 next month.
The NWRA, which represents Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Mayo, Galway, Roscommon, Cavan, and Monaghan, is one of three Regional Assemblies tasked with helping strengthen the development of regions in a strategic manner.
It says a multi-million-euro stimulus package is necessary to stem growing regional inequality and to deliver balanced regional development in Ireland.
To address these challenges in the long-term, the NWRA is also calling on the Government to adopt a policy of “positive discrimination” for the northern and western regions in its rollout of infrastructure projects in the National Development Plan (NDP).
According to the NWRA, such a policy would result in rebalancing legacy underinvestment of new infrastructure projects for the region and increased capital expenditure to bring more infrastructure projects of scale to the area.
The group is also calling for a Citizens Assembly to be set up to examine how greater levels of regional autonomy can be delivered, claiming the centralised government system is responsible for high levels of regional inequality and disengagement in rural areas.
