Rural enterprise vision needed
Liam Scollan, Managing Director of Ireland West Airport Knock, said recent policies aimed at balanced regional development so far represent urban answers to urban problems.
They do not respond sufficiently to rural opportunities, he told the Irish LEADER Support Unit rural development conference in Croke Park.
“I would accept that initiatives such as LEADER and programmes such as CLÁR have been set up to tackle rural development and rural enterprise and are doing excellent work.
“But such work needs to be brought to a higher plane in terms of its potential contribution to national development,” he said.
Mr Scollan said the level of expenditure in research by the third-level sector has dramatically increased and governments have put big efforts into encouraging multinationals to do more R & D in Ireland. But he said there hasn’t been the same emphasis on encouraging development at indigenous companies.
He said there is a need for joined-up thinking where business development policies in farming, food, energy, construction, tourism, culture and heritage are treated more seriously in public debate and public and private investment.
While an increasing number of farm families need other sources of income, the conference was told developing new businesses in rural areas faces a struggle in the absence of a national rural enterprise policy.
Brian Kehoe, Wicklow LEADER, said that while the LEADER programme has a strong track record in boosting rural income, it cannot carry the can for enterprise in rural areas.
It must be part of a coherent strategy involving bodies such as the IDA and Enterprise Ireland, he said.
