Gilmore backs university plan

LABOUR PARTY leader Eamon Gilmore, speaking at Waterford Institute of Technology, said a university of the south east is important for the economic development of the region.

Deputy Gilmore argued regional policy has been characterised by an “air of unreality”, that has seen uneven economic development in Ireland.

“Despite all the economic growth, recent county-level CSO data show marked inequalities across the State. While income in Waterford itself is just below the national average, disposable income per capita in Wexford is nearly 11% below the national average, the same is true of Kilkenny, and in Carlow the figure is 12%.