Calls are being made for investment in the North West to become a national priority.
IBEC, the group that represents Irish business, say there is currently a lack of prioritisation for the region.
Sligo and Letterkenny have seen a steady decline in population since 2011.
And IBEC says the north west seems to be deprived because it doesn’t have a city; the business group now wants both Sligo and Letterkenny to be given city status.
However, IBEC’s North West Regional Director, Terry McNamara, says the government doesn’t have any plans in place to develop the northwest:
Meanwhile, County Sligo’s longest-serving public representative says he supports IBEC’s call for Sligo to be given city status.
But Independent Socialist Councillor Declan Bree wants to know what exactly ‘city status’ would entail.
He recalled that years ago, Sligo was designated in a government national spatial strategy as a ‘Gateway City’ but this turned out to be meaningless.
And since then, he points out, bodies such as the borough council in Sligo, have been totally abolished.
But Cllr Bree says what’s needed is a total revamp of local government:
