a 25% increase in the number of hospital beds.

Speaking about Sligo's role as a regional growth centre, he said that the plan specifically includes the Connacht Ulster Alliance Technical University, which includes Sligo IT.

He said that the plan will see the redevelopment of Sligo University Hospital which construction commencing in three years.

The Taoiseach also said that 110,000 new houses will be built over the course of the ten year plan.

In a statement, the Government said that the plan "links planning and investment for the first time in Irish history, balances rural and urban investment, and will avoid the mistakes of the past".

There will be a new technological university for the south east.

Outlining how the plan will be funded, the document states that Project Ireland 2040 involves investment ininfrastructure of almost €116 billion in the ten years to 2027.

This combines €91 billion directly from the Exchequer, as well as nearly €25 billion by State-owned commercial companies

Speaking at the launch, the Minister for Business, Enterprise, and Innovation Heather Humphreys said: "This plan is not about one for everybody in the audience.

"It is a realistic and achievable framework to ensure we will have the infrastructure to cater for the extra one million people who will live in Ireland by 2040."

Minister for Transport Shane Ross said the new national development plan is about reclaiming a lost decade of investment in transport infrastructure.

He insisted that it was not a Dublin-centered plan, but that it was about delivering balanced regional development which, he said, meant that everybody in the country should