4th December 2003

PRESS RELEASE

GREENS ACCUSE GOVT. OF RIPPING UP NATIONAL SPATIAL STRATEGY BEFORE IT HAS EVEN BEGUN

Green Party Leader, Trevor Sargent TD, has accused the Government of engaging in pork barrel politics in its plans to move civil Service jobs out of Dublin stating that the Cabinet has effectively ripped up the National Spatial Strategy before it has even begun.

Mr. Sargent said today that “only one out of the nine towns (Mullingar) selected for new Departmental Headquarters is identified as a gateway town within the National Spatial Strategy”. “Only three out of the nine towns Cavan, Killarney, and Wexford selected for new Departmental headquarters are identified as Hubs within the National Spatial Strategy. Also only 13 of the 53 towns identified for the 'decentralisation' of jobs out of Dublin are identified as either Gateways or Hubs within the National Spatial Strategy.”

"The Cabinet are effectively ripping up the National Spatial Strategy before they have even begun its implementation", stated Deputy Sargent speaking in the Dáil today. “Of course we welcome investment in the regions but not in a haphazard and flawed manner. The decision appears to have been influenced more by proximity to Ministers constituencies than by the blueprint for regional planning and development that was published in November 2002.”

"Last year in the introduction to the National Spatial Strategy Minister Cullen stated: 'I will have overall responsibility for leading the  implementation of the NSS. I pledge my full commitment and that of my Department to this task.'  Minister Cullen should now resign as the National Spatial Strategy lies in tatters.”

"Moving the headquarters of Government Departments out of Dublin will also require high quality broadband access. Given that Ireland is not even in the upper tier of broadband access internationally, finishing twenty-sixth in a recent survey by the International Telecommunication Union, it does not bode well for Minister McCreevy's ill-conceived plans.”