Lack of invisible infrastructure a glaring issue

Rural Ireland has the potential to tap into that zeitgeist, if the community and political will exists to make it happen, writes Joe Gill

While the Irish economy, at an aggregate level, has returned to highly impressive growth rates in 2017, one large part of society needs deep thought — the rural economy.

Small towns and villages, and their hinterlands, are bleeding people from emigration and movement to larger cities. Farming is under sustained pressure to rationalise, and this is reducing the number of family farms throughout the country.

Yet, this part of Ireland contains the ingredients to not only amplify overall economic growth, but also to provide a viable alternative to city living, here and abroad.

Changing the trends of drift and depopulation will require a lot more than a columnist’s angst. It will need the energy of community and political leaders to set out and implement policy initiatives that attack the causes of decline. That should be done with some urgency, because the upside benefits are worth fighting for.

Powerful trends can be harnessed to address this challenge. Healthy countryside environments are coveted by many high-income individuals and families. Technology has galloped along at a fierce pace to provide high-powered broadband capabilities, which can support business and community needs. Moreover, the cost of access to that web-based infrastructure and of the devices needed to access it is falling fast.

Add to this list a geography that is within reasonable reach of airport infrastructure and property prices that remain significantly cheaper than those available in the inflation-ridden urban districts. Together, this package is theoretically of great value to investors and employees alike, but there are obstacles to progress.

The first, and most alarming, is the hopeless provision of broadband in rural Ireland.

There is a taint of third worldliness in some of the anecdotal comments by consumers on this issue. Hours are needed to download a simple document. The inability to host video conferences or watch training films is another feature.

Not only rural areas are afflicted, but towns and villages, too, handicapped by an unreliable broadband service. Perhaps it is because this infrastructure is not visible, like roads or power pylons, that explains why more local politicians are not up in arms on this issue.

There is no greater obstacle to reversing the decline of rural Ireland than this broadband disgrace. Forget about any other initiatives, unless you can nail this gaping hole in the basic services required to re-energise the rural economy.

Imagine that the political system finds a way to deploy ultra-fast broadband across every part of rural Ireland. Now, you have the framework on which you can ignite interest among investors, individuals, and families to stay in or move to smaller towns and rural communities.

Consideration should be given to co-ordinating marketing activity by the IDA and Enterprise Ireland with local house builders to connect affordable-housing schemes with multi-year, corporate investment projects.

We know, for example, that large IT companies are encountering difficulties finding accommodation for employees in larger cities. Can smaller towns not resolve that?

At a wider level, leisure-based organisations — including golf clubs, surf schools, and cycling organisations — should be networked with any marketing campaign by the agencies targeting companies that are likely to employ a generation of workers who place high value on such amenities.

Local communities should establish shared workplaces that offer budding entrepeneurs low-cost power by the hour, usage of desks, and wi-fi access.

This might all sound a little airy-fairy, but a perusal of literature about modern living, and the demands of younger people worldwide, points to the clear advantages of flexible work, a heavy work-life balance emphasis, and a focus on sustainable living in a healthy environment.

Rural Ireland has the potential to tap into that zeitgeist, if the community and political will exists to make it happen.

• Joe Gill is director for corporate broking with Goodbody Stockbrokers. His views are personal.