infrastructural investment designed to ensure it plays its part in balanced economic and social growth among cities across the country.
The proposals, to be launched by Minster for Housing, Planning and Local Government Simon Coveney next month, will attempt to direct population growth to regional cities to make them attractive investment destinations and allow the development of greater public infrastructure.
The plan is that a bolstered Galway will drive regional growth around the west, as opposed to previous plans which attempted to create regional growth hubs in towns that were unable to sustain their surrounding areas due to lack of infrastructure.
This is news that will be welcomed locally, as the city is currently in the midst of planning for the port development and the controversial ring road, two projects that if advanced, would enhance the social and economic growth of the city, and the region beyond.
The plans would also prevent construction markets in Dublin from overheating while allowing the capital to continue to develop, Mr Coveney said of his strategy, which he hopes will set out how Ireland will grow until 2040.
The population of Ireland will likely increase by one million in that time frame, he said, and three-quarters of that growth should take place outside Dublin.
The paper prepared by department officials says that unless new plans are put in place, other cities and larger towns will see much more limited growth. This, in turn, will lead to stagnation and the decline of smaller towns and rural areas.
