Mitchelstown, Kells, Tullow, Kilmallock: Towns facing different level of social crisis

Independent urban towns are in a different level of social crisis to the rest of the country — unemployment at 5.9%, the highest of any area type, 17% at risk of poverty, and 20% of their households reliant on social welfare

Towns like Mitchelstown are outside the orbit of the nearest city, and unable to compete with the lucky neighbours closer in, like Midleton. Picture: Denis Minihane

Leo Varadkar may be right about where the most tax is paid in Ireland, clustered as it is in the cities, but faced with a crisis like the one we are currently in, being right does not always mean you are being helpful. 

Implicit in the geography of tax collection and more so in the ruthless 'reality check' punch-down sentiment in which Mr Varadkar presented it, is something even more unsettling — the implication the whole promise of national planning for Ireland, with its commitment to sustainable and equitable growth, is a fragile mirage.