Co-ordinated approach to depopulation ‘vital’

A FRESH and co-ordinated response to the problem of rural depopulation appears all the more pressing given the picture painted by the preliminary results of the 2002 Census.

This was revealed when Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Minister Éamon Ó Cuiv launched a report on rural repopulation at the National Ploughing Championships in Ballacolla, Co Laois, yesterday.

The report, by Kevin Heanue of Dublin City University, was commissioned by Area Development Management Ltd. It says the repopulation of vulnerable rural areas needs to be strategically encouraged and managed as part of an integrated strategy for