Towns let down by strategy

TIPPERARY was left out of the National Spatial Strategy yesterday despite the county’s proximity to Limerick and Waterford.

Clonmel Chamber of Commerce said it was disappointed the county had been excluded from the report. Clonmel had been waiting for various announcement, including the decentralisation programme, and the town was still hopeful it may yet benefit, a spokesperson said.

The citing of the Midlands triangle of Athlone, Mullingar and Tullamore as an area for development was no consolation for business interests in other towns in the region, it was claimed.

Accusing the Government of hypocrisy, Longford Chamber of Commerce said the Government may as well turn out the lights in the town.

Portlaoise Chamber of Commerce argued the Co Laois town should have been drawn into the midlands hub and not excluded from it.

Despite the inclusion of Dundalk as a gateway town for the north-west, public representatives in nearby Drogheda were angered by its omission.

Fine Gael Louth TD Fergus O’Dowd said it was a disgrace that a town like Drogheda was ignored.