EuroStat figures reveal full extent of east/west economic divide

Official European statistics show the West region is lagging “dramatically” behind the east of the country in terms of economic development and living standards.

And the Government’s failure to apply for tens of millions of euro in ‘guaranteed’ funding for the West from two separate EU funding tranches is seen as a key reason for the severe disparity.

Newly-published EuroStat figures from the EC show that the Regional GDP per head of population (Gross Domestic Product is a key measure of economic activity and development in a region and is also an indicator of living standards) vastly differs between East and West.

The figure for the South and East is €39,900 per person, while the figure is €23,700 in the West – a 40% difference.

That means that purchasing power in the South and East of the country is almost one-and-a-half times the European average, while in the BMW region it is 86% of the average.

Independent Galway Senator Rónán Mullen described the economic inequality between the regions as “massive” and said it is a “travesty” that Government failed to apply for EU funds available to Galway.

See full story in this week’s new-look compact Connacht Tribune.