Poverty in rural areas ‘often goes unnoticed’

RURAL poverty can exist side by side with considerable wealth and affluence, but is frequently unnoticed.

The claim was made at the opening of the two-day Irish Rural Link (IRL) conference in Killala, Co Mayo, yesterday.

Delegates heard that isolation can have serious psychological effects and that suicide rates in rural areas can be up to 25% greater than in Dublin.

IRL chief executive Seamus Boland called for the urgent development of a three-pronged strategy for providing jobs, training and services in rural areas.

Otherwise, rural families risk being caught in poverty traps for decades to come while urban areas benefit from economic recovery, he warned.

Mr Boland said people associate poverty with urban decay, but poverty is more likely to occur in rural areas.

“Rural poverty is more hidden and dispersed, with isolation, limited job opportunities, lack of transport and distance from services all contributing,” he said.

He also said rural areas experience higher levels of child poverty and there is some evidence that benefit take-up rates are lower. This is due to less access to information about public benefit entitlement, a culture of self-reliance, and the lack of anonymity in collecting benefits.

“Even in the Celtic Tiger years, rural people were asset rich but cash poor and were ‘site-harvesting’ where they sold sites to survive. This was unsustainable and the collapse of the property market brought this to an abrupt end,” he said.

Mr Boland said having a job is one of the main safeguards against poverty and exclusion, but unemployment in the more rural counties is running above that in the cities.

“Off-farm income in sectors such as construction was vital for farm families and thousands of these jobs have been lost,” he explained.

Meanwhile, four winners of the IRL National Rural Awards, sponsored by Career Decisions, a Limerick-based career mentoring and coaching company, were presented at the conference dinner last night.

They are Glinsk Community Co-op, Co Galway; Bonane Community Co-op, Kenmare, Co Kerry; Third Age Foundation, Summerhill, Co Meath; and Kenagh Co-op, Co Longford.

IRL policy and communications officer Seán O’Leary said the lack of policing services, particularly at night, has created a heightened sense of fear, in particular among older rural residents.

Third Age Foundation, one of the IRL award winners, provides a year-round Senior Helpline.

“The service is operated by trained volunteers, the majority of whom are over the age of 65. Last year, it received more than 13,000 calls from older people nationally.”

Senior Helpline: LoCall 1850 440 444.

Mon, Tues and Thurs: 10am-10pm.

Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun: 10am-4pm; 7pm-10pm.