I ask the Taoiseach how the current national development plan, NDP, can deliver balanced regional development where previous plans have failed. We have a long list of projects. The language around regional balance is there. We know from bitter experience that that has not worked beforehand and past performance is certainly a poor indicator of future success. Time and again, I have quoted the facts and figures that show the widening economic gap between the northern and western region and the rest of the country. Unfortunately, the European Commission confirmed our worst fears by downgrading the region economically, not just compared to other regions in Ireland but to every single region in the EU. In that context, the NDP has some heavy lifting to do in order to redress the economic imbalance which has worsened over the last 15 years.

I do not believe that the Taoiseach or any of his predecessors intended for such an imbalance in development between the regions to occur. I believe that it was a combination of inertia, a frame of mind wherein a rising tide would lift all boats, a failure to measure systematically the impact of policy from a regional perspective across all Departments and, more than anything else, the absence of a disciplined and ongoing commitment to provide the necessary investment and support to the northern and western region.

There is a five city-led approach to development, not exclusively but significantly. However, the northern and western region cannot benefit from that approach as it has only one city, which is situated at its southern tip. The NDP needs to be explicitly nuanced to allow other towns in the region, such as Sligo, to play a special role as a driver for development. If it is to close that gap, towns such as Sligo and Letterkenny must be afforded opportunities and provided with investment that is comparatively greater than that being provided to similar-sized towns in other regions. That is not favouritism. It is an absolute necessity to rebalance the part of the plan that is city-led. We need timelines and benchmarks to measure progress. Finally, we need a form of regional proofing when assessing projects.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue and assure her that the essence of the national development plan is to address the regional imbalance in economic development in the country. She mentioned the citywide strategy. That is a good thing because it will help all regions in terms of that imbalance.

If the Deputy looks at key sectors such as education, for example, there is investment in the technological university embracing Sligo, Letterkenny and Galway-Mayo institutes of technology, ITs. They will comprise one technological university for the north west, which will be a significant help in driving the economy of the region. Each of those institutional campuses has its strengths. I have been to the IT Sligo campus on a number of occasions. It has a unique robotic technology centre, for example. It is also strong in relation to small to medium-sized companies. Funding is provided for further development for the IT Sligo central campus extension. The Sligo Cultural Plaza is identified in the NDP as are the Sligo cultural and learning hub, the Sligo hospital regeneration and a range of other proposals. I was recently at the ceremony for the completion of the Sligo western distributor road as well as the new N4 upgrade. That will be a significant boost from a road infrastructure perspective.

The various funding streams through the urban regeneration and development fund, URDF, and the rural development fund will add to the NDP in creating infrastructural and human skills investment in the north-west region. There is no doubt that we have to rebalance economic development in the country. In this NDP there is a strong focus on that rebalancing.

Only last week the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, published the rural transport plans, which involve a substantial expansion of what was there before. That is about trying to create a critical mass in the regions, particularly in the north west, to ensure sustained economic development. The NDP is a high-level document in terms of the broader range of objectives, aims and so on. Within that, it gives rise to a range of projects on a smaller scale which will be delivered in a timely and efficient manner.

I thank the Taoiseach. I do not dispute the city-led approach. I am saying the northern and western region cannot benefit from it to the same extent as other regions. We need a more nuanced approach. The Taoiseach mentioned all the great projects in Sligo. I could say we have not had a road project in 20 years. I could quote the Northern and Western Regional Assembly report, which states that we are not getting our fair share in regard to regional projects in the NDP, but that is not the point. The Taoiseach and I could play ping-pong across the floor of the Dáil all day regarding projects. However, unless we can measure progress and there is a system in place to do so and unless there is accountability across Departments, a nuanced approach to the northern and western region that recognises its specific circumstances and challenges and regional-proofing like we have with the climate action plan that requires adjustments to achieve planned outcomes, I do not believe we will see change.

I accept the Deputy's point about the need for accountability and metrics and measurements to ensure the objectives of the plan materialise. There are always different metrics used by different bodies and groups to analyse and reach conclusions. For me, one of the essential ingredients of the NDP is human capital. Maybe all of us focus too much on the big, mega-project. What drives economics and society is investment in human capital. Education at all levels is the key to the economic development of any region. That is why the NDP, in underpinning the establishment and investment in key elements of the technological university, will be an important economic driver for the region. The wider skills provision in Skillnet and the apprenticeship programme that is developing at pace and expanding are also important. Then there is the industrial part of the project in terms of foreign direct investment, FDI. Critically, as I said in the Dáil recently, the last 50 years might have been about FDI and we will always maintain our focus on that but the next 50 years has to be about growing indigenous industry to an even higher scale than we have.