"It's time for Dublin to fight back."
(Image source: thejournal.ie)The former Lord Mayor of Dublin, Dermot Lacey, says the issues facing Dubliners don't get as much attention as those facing rural people.
It comes after Pat Spillane - GAA pundit and formerly the government's Ambassador for the Action Plan for Rural Ireland - appeared on The Late Late Show on RTÉ 1 last night.
Spillane claimed the government was putting the capital ahead of the rest of the country, saying "we have created a monster in Dublin", by allowing the capital to develop to account for 40 per cent of the Irish economy.
But Councillor Lacey branded the remarks as "anti-Dublin nonsense";
"I haven't seen the reporting the very significant transfer to local property taxes from Dublin to rural Ireland.
It's time for Dublin to fight back. I'm favour of a balanced regional approach to Ireland. I favour the development of rural Ireland.
But I also favour the advancement and protection of Dublin, and sometimes I think is anybody saying that? If nobody is saying that, well then maybe it's my job to say it."
The Dublin councillor says Spillane is to entitled to speak up for rural Ireland, but it's not fair to blame everything on Dublin;
"So many issues are taken at a nation level that rural commentators often say that means those up in Dublin make the decisions.
But the reality is it's those in government offices who take the decisions, and they've about as little sympathy for Dublin as they have for rural Ireland.
We need to allow local people make local decisions."
