TWICE THE SIZE - DIT Update - Dublin Institute of Technology

not the intention of the policy makers in Dublin, it is possible that Dublin may loose its
distinctiveness as a uniquely Irish city and that it will not be able to retain its unique character.
That vision represents an opportunity for the other gateway cities. Cork - a city based around
water. Galway - a city based on performing arts. Sligo - a city based on literature and
landscape. There may also be opportunities for gateways to specialise as locations for specific
economic functions. For example, the Midlands Gateway could function as a strategic location
for ‘back office’ type economic activities. It is even possible that the West of Ireland, and
perhaps in particular the North West, would become the ‘Switzerland’ of Ireland.
The West and particularly north-West may loose much of its agriculture and have little
employment growth in other sectors to compensate. However, as other parts of Ireland continue
to grow, particularly along the Eastern seaboard, and as population growth and increased
affluence create demand for leisure and recreation activities, it is quite possible that the towns
in these Western regions can become ‘niche markets’ for leisure and recreation based on
environmental quality and availability of living formats. For example, cultural tourism products,
local cuisine, hill walking and other activities can lead to the area becoming the picture
postcard type destination; the Switzerland of Ireland.
From radial to transversal
Does this vision mean that we should change our current policies? The preferred vision that is
sketched out here is not a plan. It is a sketching of a possible and perhaps highly likely future
pattern of spatial development of the country. In terms of current actions, it would be wrong to
draw conclusions from a vision that is not a strategy. However, there is one area where action
and change in policy may seem appropriate. This is the transport infrastructure. It would make
sense for example to plan for two parallel transport corridors to form the backbone of the East
corridor: the coastal one, reflecting the existing infrastructure; and a new corridor in parallel
and more inland. In addition, it would seem sensible to make provision for short direct routes
from urban centres in the rest of Ireland to the East corridor to achieve the ‘40 minutes’
concept (Fig. 13).
Figure 13: Potential for transversal transport network.
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