Rural broadband is not a panacea for economic ills

The recent release of new economic growth measures has again prompted a debate on regional — from which we can generally read urban versus rural — development in Ireland.

To listen to some commentators you would imagine that beyond the M50 ring-road or beyond Blarney there is an economic wasteland, home to people in their 90s and an infrastructure barely out of the 18th century. The reality is, of course, quite different.

There is an economic world beyond the cities, and while parts of it are thriving, other parts are undoubtedly struggling. Dublin, and to a lesser extent Cork, and other medium-sized towns, will continue to be the economic engine driving the island forward. That is both inevitable and desirable.