Report calls for integrated approach to rural economic development
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.
The report, entitled Energising Ireland’s Rural Economy, highlights the need for an integrated approach to rural economic development. It also calls for a support pathway to help rural businesses and small scale food producers to develop export markets for their products.
The report suggests harnessing under-exploited opportunities for rural tourism in many parts of Ireland. It also calls for a target stimulus programme to help rural towns get back on their feet.
Grocery group RGDATA said the Government must respond to the commission’s call for tighter co-ordination between state agencies, to create rural jobs and rebuild local communities.
The report’s recent launch in Castlebar, Co Mayo, was attended by Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Environment Minister Phil Hogan. Prof Cathal O’Donoghue welcomed the Taoiseach’s commitment to take a personal role in ensuring that Government deliver on the report’s recommendations.
Prof O’Donoghue said: “A strategy for the economic development of rural Ireland is critical as unemployment increased in rural areas by 192% since the crash, but by 114% in urban areas.
“The main reason for this is that construction was our rural development strategy for the previous decade which turned out to be unsustainable. Rural Ireland requires a short term strategy to reduce unemployment and a long-term strategy to improve the economic structure of rural areas.”
The commission is hosting a conference entitled The Future of Rural Society: Opportunities for Rural Economic Development on June 10, in NUI Maynooth.
The issues facing rural areas will also be addressed at IRL’s annual conference in Moate Business Park, Co Westmeath, on May 9.
