Agency dismantled by stealth

THE dismantling by stealth of the Shannon Development Agency is a telling reflection of the modus operandi of the Government.

The proposals to transfer control of the Shannon industrial zone to the new airport authority and Shannon Development’s enterprise promotion functions to Enterprise Ireland will effectively emasculate an agency which has brought many benefits to the mid-west over the years.

Yet I am not aware that these decisions were based on any prior evaluation of the effectiveness of Shannon Development or any considered assessment of the impact of the decisions on the future development of the region. This, of course, is very similar to the approach taken by the Government with its decentralisation proposals and the decision to fund the Punchestown equestrian centre.