Irish Examiner view: Farming no longer the be-all and end-all of rural living

The uniquely Irish extravaganza that is the National Ploughing Championships paints a glittering picture of rural Ireland, but it is not in any way a realistic portrait of what life is like for those living away from the bright lights and big cities. Picture: Dan Linehan

The uniquely Irish extravaganza that is the National Ploughing Championships paints a glittering picture of rural Ireland, but it is not in any way a realistic portrait of what life is like for those living away from the bright lights and big cities.

All this week in the 'Irish Examiner', we give rural Ireland a voice via our exclusive IPSOS/B&A poll which sought their views; those feeling marginalised or left behind by the fast-paced modernisation which has engulfed this country over five decades or more and those who want their views heard before the next general election.

It is noteworthy that farming is no longer the be-all and end-all when it comes to rural living, as only one in four respondents have a direct connection with farming, while some 77% neither work nor live on farms.

As with so many such snapshot pictures, the Irish Examiner poll does highlight what is regarded as being the most important issues for Government to deal with.

Not surprisingly, the cost of living is top of the rural dwellers’ list, followed by the state of the health service, housing, the economy, crime, and taxes. Immigration, cited by some as the country’s biggest crisis issue, particularly those who shout loudest on social media, is a fair way down the list of the most pressing issues, while climate change is, alarmingly, an even less pressing concern.

But for over a sixth of those polled, other issues — such as public safety, rural development, political integrity, infrastructure, and transportation — are key.

Vacillating support for one or other — or any — of the political parties seeking election to the Dáil is another highlight of the poll, but what it does more than any research carried out on this island of late is highlight that rural Irish interests remain varied and warrant a greater place in our political and media landscape.

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US reaps as it has sown  

Following the second apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump on Sunday, it is hard not to get a sense of this being America reaping what it has sown.

While the usual platitudes about there being no place in American society for political violence — or any violence for that matter — were voiced in many quarters following the arrest of a man who had an assault rifle and a telescopic sights in a location near where Trump was golfing, the widespread availability of, and need for, such weaponry remains baffling.

The right to bear arms is enshrined in the US constitution and apologists for the gun lobby have long fought to keep it that way but, in the face of ever-increasing school massacres and now a second attempt to kill the presidential candidate, the problem of gun-related crime is not going away.

Even here in Ireland, where weapons of this nature are completely banned, the authorities have great difficulty in keeping them out of the hands of criminal gangs. In America, there are no such regulations and the results are quite evident. That the country has more guns than people tells its own story.

What is more worrying is that, of the two parties contesting November’s US election, only one of them is fanning the flames of partisan violence. In a perilously close contest, the prospect of January 6-style rioting across state capitals should Kamala Harris eke out a narrow win is real.

That Trump is in a desperate fight to avoid incarceration on a number of fronts is perhaps the reason he has allowed himself become a lightning rod for societal polarisation, election denial, rampant disinformation, and political violence, but the seeds he has sown are not necessarily bearing the fruit he desires.

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Saving threatened species 

As climate change wreaks havoc on the world, biologists have come up with a daring plan to find new homes for threatened animal species, and birds in particular, which could see
them finding new homes great distances from their normal habitat.

One such experiment, based in Kansas, USA, is seeing a flock of endangered tropical birds (the Guam kingfisher, or sihek) being readied for a new life thousands of kilometres away from their natural home. With no siheks left in the wild, there are just 130 left in captivity and the intention is to allow them to fly free in the forests.

However, it will be in a forest not in their native Guam, but on the Palmyra Atoll, 5,800km distant in the Pacific Ocean.

The practice goes by several names: Assisted migration, managed relocation, or assisted colonisation. It is aimed simply at saving numerous species of animals and plants from vanishing off the face of the planet.

In Ireland, the future of numerous bird species in particular have come under threat in recent times, not least of which is the hen harrier. The population of these rare birds of
prey fell by one third between 2015 and 2022. This is despite the setting up of Special Protection Areas in 2007.

To counter this rapid decline, it is now proposed to make the hen harrier an environmental priority for the National Parks and Wildlife Service and a recently published response plan which will include financial incentives for landowners to allow them to manage their lands appropriately for these birds.

Like the Kansas experiment for the siheks, the hen harrier plan is vital for their ultimate survival and their fate is indicative of the broader issues causing a threat to so many species.

In Ireland, as well as globally, the fate of these species falls squarely into the hands of the human race.