Not much snipping – more like carving up life in the country

THE euphemistic “snipping” proposed by the Government’s special group to curb public spending could more aptly be described as ripping the heart out of rural Ireland.

Living away from urban centres means limited access to acute health care, transport, third-level education and other services.

However, people living in rural areas usually weigh this up against things like quality of life, security, access to small local schools, community.

But now, the Government has been given carte blanche to take away the very things that make country living worthwhile – and viable. Some 900 rural schools, Garda stations, community schemes, services and investment for disadvantaged areas.

It is easy to see this report was written safe inside city office walls, because if implemented, the board’s recommendations would have a devastating impact on an already stretched rural dwellers.

Indeed, the report calls for the axing of the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, stating its functions “have a relatively lower priority” in terms of the existing pressures on the public finances.

IFA president Padraig Walshe says the report is an unacceptable assault on agriculture and rural Ireland and would cause massive damage to the productive agri-food sector that the country is depending on for recovery.

Similarly, Seamus Boland, chief executive of the Irish Rural Link, says the document is a blueprint for abandoning rural areas, and ignores the requirements, needs and circumstances of the 40% of the population who live in the country.

“These proposals would amount to a false economy and if they were implemented in full, rural areas would be unable to realise their potential to contribute to our economic recovery and instead would become more isolated requiring more investment down the line,” he said.

But Pat Love, who runs a community project for isolated men in north Leitrim, maintains the loss of the department is not too lamentable. It is certainly the least thing that people in rural Ireland are worrying about now.

“If the department’s remit was to develop rural Ireland then it has not done a very good job. We are not a priority for the Government and never were. There is a lot of bureaucracy and PR to publicise reports and studies, but not a lot happens.”

Mr Love maintains the most vulnerable – people living alone or in isolated regions – will be worst hit if practical resources are cut.

The more consequential impacts are the cuts such as proposed loss of rural Garda stations, amalgamation of schools, the abandonment of the long-promised Western Rail Corridor and rural bus services.

“I was talking to an old person living alone in an isolated area the other day who has had someone tipping rubbish in his garden,” says Mr Love.

“He reported it to the local authority who said they would look into it. Nothing was done so he called the guards who came out and sorted it out. They are talking about cutting back on local guards. Who is going to be there for this person now?”

The first thing Mr Love jumps on when asked about the report is the social welfare cuts, proving the levels of poverty of the people he deals with. But whether they be practical or administrative cuts, they all point towards one thing – the end of a living countryside, one which is already struggling to hold on.