Commuter belt to be treated as one economic zone?

A Dail Committee has recommended that the commuter belt around Dublin, which includes all of County Meath, becomes an economic unit in its own right rather than simply a collection of several different and disparate towns. Fianna Fail TD for Meath East and candidate for the East constituency in the European Elections, Thomas Byrne, has welcomed the report by the Oireachtas Enterprise Committee recommending that the commuter belt be treated as an economic zone to maximise investment and increase employment levels. 'The members of the Oireachtas Enterprise Committee visited various towns in the commuter belt, including Drogheda and Navan, to meet with local employers, members of the Chambers of Commerce, local authorities, county enterprise boards, IDA, unions, Fás and others. I was pleased to meet with the Committee when they came to Drogheda. After each meeting, they visited a potential site that could be developed for a business park or local company,' he said. The Committee found that towns had suffered major job losses in their traditional industries and because of the decline of the construction industry. The view also was expressed that the IDA concentrated efforts in larger towns and that there was a lack of incubation centres where new enterprises can be nurtured. 'The Committee has recommended in a report that the Dublin Commuter Belt Zone needs to be developed economically as a unit rather than as a group of towns. The recommendation is that the towns should be interconnected with each other as well as with Dublin,' said Deputy Byrne. While agreeing that there needs to be a focus on attracting manufacturing to the commuter belt, it is also being suggested that the county enterprise boards be strengthened and expanded. Agri-tourism, agri-business and farm diversification also needs to be supported and planning laws may need to be amended to facilitate this. 'I am encouraged by the excellent work of the Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise. The commuter belt has grown over the last 10 years and has very specific concerns and challenges that must be addressed. It makes sense to me to treat it has one economic zone to maximise the potential of a zone where up to two million people live. 'These are unprecedented economic times and we need unprecedented thinking to deal with the challenges that we face,' added the Fianna Fail Meath East TD.