Galway to become focus of plan for regional growth

A new government plan will focus on greater population growth and more jobs for Galway.
The new National Planning Framework will aim to balance economic and social growth across the country.
The proposals will be launched by Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Simon Coveney, in January.
A number of regional cities will be the focus of the new plan to create more jobs and encourage increased investment in transport links.
These include Galway, Cork, Waterford, Limerick and a potential new city in the midlands.
The plan aims to direct population growth in these cities and also prevent the Dublin construction market from overheating.
Each city would then be obliged to drive regional growth.
Minister Simon Coveney will hold public consultations on the planning framework before seeking approval in the Dáil.
He says it will not be like previous decentralisation plans which had a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.