National Development Plan
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-07
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Eamon Scanlon (FF), Sligo-Leitrim

The success of NSO 3 should ultimately be judged by whether rural counties can attract and retain people, jobs and investment. In the north-west, communities across Sligo and Leitrim and south Donegal continue to argue that stronger intervention is needed to overcome decades of underinvestment. They point to the need for accelerated broadband delivery, greater support for town centre regeneration, expanded remote working infrastructure, enhanced tourism and outdoor recreation investment and, crucially, for improved transport connectivity and roads infrastructure. We should also mention Local Link, which has been a great success in rural Ireland but there are blank spots that need to be looked at as well.
The Minister accepts there has been underinvestment in the north-west. I am glad he recognises the fact. I ask that we progress these projects, particularly the national primary roads, which are crucial for jobs.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-07/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:07+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-07