Marian Harkin TD with Finola McBride, Post Mistress Castlefin Post Office, Co. Donegal and member of the Executive Committee, Irish Postmaster Union.
Former MEP Marian Harkin says the Northern and Western region must get its fair share of the resources of the State.
Harkin TD, an Independent, recently announced she will stand as a candidate in the next general election in Donegal South.
Outlining her priorities, she said: “The current Government has more resources at its disposal than any government in the history of the State. When you add the windfall from the Apple tax case, the discretion in terms of spending the incoming Government will have is enormous and there must be no question about it – we absolutely must get our fair share this time around.
“All the figures produced by the Northern and Western Regional Assembly and from Eurostat show that this region is poorly served in the allocation of national resources. This is clearly evident in the road infrastructure, the rail infrastructure, schools, healthcare provision and housing completions,” Ms Harkin said.
“The most recent figures show that since 2016 just 11% of all national projects worth over €1m were committed to the region, although we have 17% of the population. Shamefully, only 5.7% of all national projects worth over €20 million were committed to this region, representing barely one-third of what we should get on a per capita basis.
“Last year housing completions in the region were at 11%, yet we have 17% of the population. Our local roads budget for the last ten years was well below the national average and our national roads budget was one-third less than the national average. On top of this only two years ago the EU Commission downgraded the north and west to ‘a lagging region’ – this is truly an astonishing state of affairs,” the Deputy said.
Harkin TD added that government must focus on ‘ big ticket spending’ in various areas in the region, such as housing, infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture, education, small business, tourism, and childcare.
“I firmly believe that being an Independent TD has huge value in the current political reality. It means that people like me can give clear and unfiltered voice to the concerns and needs of their constituents and I hope the people of Sligo, Leitrim and South Donegal will give me the opportunity to continue to serve them in the next Dail,” Deputy Harkin concluded.
