Shannon or Belfast? The question shouldn’t arise

The decision by Aer Lingus to locate its first hub facility outside of the 26 Counties in Belfast has caused much controversy and debate. While the reaction by interested parties both in Shannon and Belfast are understandable, investment in one part of the country should not be to the detriment of another.
The Departments North and South should be working together to attract additional investment on an island of Ireland approach rather than have regions within the island competing with each other for investment. It is an historical fact that the West has always been neglected to the advantage of the Dublin/Belfast economic corridor.
A co-operative approach needs to be adopted to ensure equitable investment in all of the regions. I believe that this would best be achieved by the amalgamation of the Development Agencies North and South working in conjunction with InterTrade Ireland. The evidence of the success of all-Ireland economic co-operation can be found in the latest figures showing that the growth of all-Ireland business is now valued at around £2 billion a year. According to InterTrade Ireland figures total cross-border trade increased between 2004 and 2006 by 17.7 per cent to total £1.98 billion. If this same energetic approach was brought to other aspects of the economy I am convinced that a profitable solution could have been found that would have benefited Belfast while securing the Shannon investment.
As someone who has previously represented a constituency and still resides West of the Bann I am acutely aware of the devastating affect that government bias towards the eastern corridor has had on the western regions. Although I now represent the constituency of South Antrim, in which Aer Lingus has decided to locate and I welcome the boost to the local economy that will accompany this investment, I do not believe that it had to be at the expense of the economy in Shannon.  
I understand that Aer Lingus operate only a limited number of slots out of Heathrow but that they actually lease out additional slots to other carriers. In that case, I see no reason why Aer Lingus could not have utilised some of those slots to service the Belfast routes while preserving the Shannon service and securing essential local employment.
I believe that it is incumbent on the Executive and the Irish government to work together to ensure that investment in any part of Ireland is not at the expense of workers, employment and investment in another region of the country. The Irish Government must now take every step possible to ensure that this decision by Aer Lingus does not adversely affect inward investment, tourism or the indigenous businesses that depended on access to markets provided by the Shannon/Heathrow service.