Rural areas could become country’s economic powerhouse

Country communities can become the economic powerhouse for the West of Ireland, according to a key state agency.

Referring to ‘rural Ireland’, the Northern and Western Regional Assembly (NWRA) has predicted there is ‘life in the old dog yet’.

David Minton, Director of NWRA, one of the region’s key funding agencies, said rural Ireland is far from dead, and it has the potential to become an economically powerful region in its own right.

Mr Minton said rural communities have three key strengths – its people, energy and resources – and they can be harnessed to make rural Ireland a force to be reckoned with.

“Instead of ushering in its demise, we should see rural Ireland as a region with huge untapped potential and the capacity to lead the emergence of vibrant new economies,” he said.

“Rural Ireland is far from dead. In fact, it’s changing, adapting, reshaping. It has responded to international trends and survived. The people of rural Ireland are the leaders of this global technology change. If anything, we should be asking, how we serve it better? Ireland needs rural Ireland. All we have to do is connect its strengths.

“We need its people, its energy, its resources, its space and its creativity. Ushering in its demise is misguided. Rural Ireland in the future could be a net exporter of energy, water, services and global technology solutions. I see the emergence of new economies and rural Ireland will lead it,” Mr Minton added.

His comments come as the recurrent debate about the future of rural; Ireland rages, with issues such as possible cuts to transport links, poor broadband connectivity and the closure of vital services that connect communities to the fore.

He predicted the bright future for rural Ireland ahead of the ONE Region: ONE Vision conference being organised by NWRA, which will take place in Sligo this December.

It will include debates on entrepreneurship, population loss, jobs, wealth and connectivity in rural areas along the western seaboard.

The conference will also explore the unique possibilities on offer to innovators and job creators in rural communities, “discussing how changing conditions could enhance what’s already one of the most sensational places to live on the continent of Europe.”

Speakers include RTÉ broadcaster Richard Curran, who hosted TV’s ‘Battle for Rural Ireland’, the ESRI’s Chief economist Dr. Edgar Morgenroth, and broadcaster and environmentalist Duncan Stewart and Oliver Daniels of the Insight Centre.

The conference promises to “throw open the doors of possibility and answer challenging questions.”

Mr Minton added: “There will be a focus on what more can be done to maintain rural communities, to build a sustainable future for young people, to create the conditions to enable wealth generation in rural Ireland. These and other questions will be tackled. How do we promote our region’s creativity, space, resources and energy? How do we turn possibilities into reality?”

In January 2015, NWRA replaced the old Border Midland and Western Regional Assembly, which was one of two regions established in 1999 to tap into European structural funds.

Headquartered in Ballaghaderreen, County Roscommon the main role of the NWRA is to manage Border-Midland-West regional operational programmes; monitor the impact of EU and Irish funding on the west and northwest; promote coordination in the provision of services; and ensure national policies take the regions into account.

ONE Region: One Vision will take place at The Model, in Sligo, on December 8 from 1pm to 5pm.

Places can be booked online.