Report calls for integrated approach to rural economic development

Rural and urban groups have welcomed the CEDRA report’s calls for strategic responses to rural unemployment and closures of core public services.

Led by its chairman, Pat Spillane, and its chief executive, Professor Cathal O’Donoghue of Teagasc, the Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas has made 38 recommendations to help deliver recovery in rural communities, where unemployment has risen 192% since the economic crash.

“The recommendations in the commission report are not about a dole for rural areas. Rather these recommendations serve to help unlock the economic potential of rural areas to contribute to the national recovery. We have demonstrated that there is a need for help, an opportunity for action and the goodwill to get things done,” Mr Spillane, said.