High quality rural services ‘essential’

THE challenge of ensuring that rural areas do not become depopulated or void of sustainable economic activity as fewer people are engaged in full-time farming was highlighted at a seminar in Dublin yesterday.

Minister of State Noel Ahern, who officially opened the event, organised by Leader groups from Waterford, west Cork and Cavan-Monaghan, said there were more than 225,000 farmers in Ireland in the early 1970s.

It is estimated that in coming years this number will have fallen to a core of some 40,000 fully commercial farmers, with the rest either supplementing their income with off-farm employment, or taking up totally non-farm related jobs.

“We must, therefore, ensure that there are sufficient economic and employment opportunities to support and maintain our rural communities,” he said.

Mr Ahern said there an onus to provide high quality services in rural areas: health and leisure amenities, educational and other social services, as well as the more obvious industrial requirements, such as a good road infrastructure and broadband access.

“We must also ensure sufficient housing, consistent with the traditional dispersed settlement patterns that are part and parcel of rural life,” he added.

Issues affecting the quality of life in rural communities in Ireland were discussed at the seminar, which was based on research undertaken by two economists, Jim Power and Chris Johns.

Their study of four rural development areas found that west Cork came more than 10 points clear of the national average. Waterford, Cavan and Monaghan were the other areas researched.