A ‘rural budget’ was long overdue
A budget centred outside the Pale of Dublin was overdue.
Rural and urban dwellers will benefit equally if last week’s budget, and the Government’s underlying economic policy, achieve their objectives of fostering employment and growth, a prudent approach to public finances, investment in infrastructure, and securing competitiveness by keeping inflation low.
But it was clear from the media event that is the budget that rural Ireland has influential friends in the Cabinet.
Minister McCreevy remained true to his roots last week, an allegiance he has also demonstrated in his generous treatment of the thoroughbred horse business, which is such a successful flagship rural enterprise.
More budgets like last week’s would help the countryside prepare for the reduction in farming activity likely when decoupling takes hold.
Like all budgets, it added a tenner here and took it away there, through a bewildering array of changes, but a number of measures stood out for their potential to make a long-term difference in the countryside.
These measures recognised the fast-changing nature of the rural world, where farming is now capable of employing only a fraction of the rural population full-time.
That is why the promise of 10,300 decentralised workers and their spending power could make such a difference. And there could be 2,500 places in the new Rural Social Scheme, a 10m addition to the community employment schemes.
Another meaningful measure among the tax adjustments is the tax credit for investment in research and development, which will have a positive effect in the agri-food industry.
This could safeguard some of the jobs threatened by struggling firms like Dairygold Co-op.
The farm organisations have welcomed improved land-leasing incentives, but they are no more than the minimum needed to move Irish farming towards a position of competitiveness within a decoupled Common Agricultural Policy.
More progress is needed, especially in shifting the milk quota bottleneck which stands in the way of a more efficient dairying structure.
The Government failed to re-introduce the roll-over relief abolished in last year’s budget. This failure is another obstacle to farm consolidation.
As always, more needs to be done, and even the positive elements of the budget will come to nothing without a lot of work to back them up.
That applies especially to the transfer of public servants to 53 centres in 25 counties, spreading job opportunities more evenly, and making the service accessible throughout the country to rural dwellers.
It is only a promise yet, and some previous decentralisation promises flattered to deceive.
For the moment, though, it is the thought that counts.
