I am afraid my question will not be as topical or controversial as some questions today but it matters a great deal to the people I represent. I want to ask the Taoiseach about his commitment to developing regional growth centres and, specifically, to developing Sligo as one of those centres.

Project Ireland 2040 makes many promises but the programme for Government is light on detail. We are told the Government will develop the cities of Waterford, Cork, Limerick and Galway and there is mention of regional towns prospering. We need a strong statement and I will tell the Taoiseach why we need a strong statement and strong action. The European Commission has downgraded the northern and western region from the status of being developed to a region in transition. As somebody who was involved in the Objective One status campaign I thought I would never see that day where we had gone backwards.

According to EUROSTAT's GDP figures, in 2018, we were at 79% of the European average per person compared to the south at 235% and the east at 205%. I acknowledge GDP has its limitations but even going back to 2014, our GDP has continued to fall comparatively. We cannot just say there is a gap between the regions and that it is growing; it is ballooning.

The Northern and Western Regional Assembly report published last November contains a load of figures. I will only quote one or two, as I have quoted some of them to the Taoiseach previously. Capital investment in third level education, for example, equates to €141 per student in the north and west whereas it is €197 nationally. The spend on roads, both regional and local, are significantly lower. I will not quote the figures because they will fry people's heads. In eight of the past 11 years the spend on research and development is below the national average. There are many more figures.

I refer specifically to Sligo. The number of Enterprise Ireland, EI, jobs in Sligo reduced by one third between 2010 and 2019 and in Leitrim by half. The number of Industrial Development Authority Ireland, IDA, jobs, in Sligo remained the same but the national average increased by 40%. Sligo University Hospital has 40 fewer beds than it had nine years ago.

What measures will the Government take to redress that imbalance and ensure that Sligo is a regional growth centre?

First of all, as the Deputy will be aware, the national planning framework targets there being additional population of 160,000 to 180,000 in the north west which would give a population of approximately 1 million people by 2040. In the here and now, Sligo is the engine room in many respects for the north west. In my view, the entire higher education edifice in the region - the institutes of technology, along with St. Angela's College - is the key to economic regeneration there.

Obviously, the move towards a technological university between Letterkenny, Sligo and Galway is important in increasing the level of research and development over time. Critical mass is needed for research and development investments. In Sligo, there are already strong research and development components; for example, in the robotics centre which is probably unique across the country in terms of its quality. That is what helps to bring in foreign direct investment. We have set up a new Department of third level education, research and science specifically for that purpose. I was anxious that the Department would be established from a policy perspective because I think the future of the country depends on significant investment in education at all levels, particularly in third level and in fourth level research. The move from institute of technology status to technological university status will enable over time a greater amount of research to take place.

The town centre-based approach in the programme for Government is another avenue through which we want to bring back development to towns that have suffered significantly in recent times through a range of factors, including demographics, the movement of industries and the closure of certain types of industry. There is a need for a renaissance and revitalisation of many town centres across the country, particularly in the north west. The programme for Government identifies incentives to try to encourage people to develop buildings and residential homes within town centres.

Over €1 billion will be spent on rural regeneration over the next ten years. The north west has been effective in tapping into quite a number of funding streams and has had a number of projects sanctioned arising out of such funds. Fundamentally, we must build on our strengths in rural areas, such as the agrifood industry, biodiversity and afforestation issues such as the growing of native trees. There will be investment in all of that, and retrofitting as well. There will be a need to develop alternative industries that are amenable to grow in rural areas.

Regionally, we need to rebalance the country. I acknowledge there is an imbalance at present. The programme for Government is clear that it wants to redress the current imbalance.

I am unhappy at one level to hear the Taoiseach state he recognises the imbalance but I am happy at another because it is there and glaring.

The Taoiseach mentioned the technological university. By the end of the year Sligo, Letterkenny and GMIT will make their application. Two of the colleges are ready to go but there is an issue about the third. It is allowed that two out of the three would go forward and the third could join when it is ready. I want a commitment that this can happen because when I read the programme for Government, I see the south-east technological university mentioned, not once but twice. I see the Magee campus in Derry mentioned, but I see nothing about Connacht-Ulster. I have real concerns around that. I want to know that once they reach the criteria, they can go ahead.

I heard what the Taoiseach said about the different programmes. They are all important but we need investment in our services, we need incentives and we need a 40-bed unit in our hospital. The Taoiseach mentioned the €1 billion for rural investment but we need significant real investment in those areas where we can play to our strengths. It has not happened. I want to hear a commitment from the Taoiseach that it will happen and, specifically, over the next number of months, how it will happen.

The Government and I want to proceed with the technological university programme as quickly as possible. Quite a few of the delays to date have not originated at central government level but rather, as the Deputy will appreciate, while getting local entities and the various stakeholders, including the institutions, ready or persuaded to do it. The south east is one such area. This is why there are repeated references to it. It has been on the agenda for quite some time. There is a commitment to progress this project and to get it over the line. The merger in Munster between the institutes in Tralee and Cork has effectively occurred. The Dublin merger happened first. Time is ticking. Once a programme is decided upon, as this one was a number of years ago, it should be followed through.

I will talk to the Minister for Health in respect of the Sligo hospital. The Minister and I met HSE representatives last week with regard to the winter initiative and the need to prepare and plan properly for this winter, more so than any other, because we will be living with Covid-19, which will place an extra strain on our healthcare facilities and hospitals as we approach a new flu season. I am particularly worried about that. Any extra capacity that can be brought into the system should be brought in as quickly as possible.