Countryside ‘must be an attractive place to live’

THE Government must address deficiencies in the quality of life for people in rural areas to make the countryside an attractive place to live, Minister of State Noel Ahern said yesterday.

The Minister of State for the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs told a conference on quality of life the challenge was to provide for an “increasingly vibrant and evolving rural society”.

The minister said there was a big challenge facing Ireland to ensure rural areas did not become depopulated or devoid of sustainable economic opportunity.