Working and living in rural areas: People, Places and Policy Helen Mc Henry, Policy Analyst

► Seven-county Western Region ► State body ► WDC Act 1998 ► Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs ► Strategic remit ► Small agency Western Development Commission: About Us

People: The Western Region – a rural region ► Region is 37% of landmass and has 18% of population ► Only 5 urban centres with a population over 10,000 (Galway, Ennis, Sligo, Letterkenny, and Castlebar) ► 69% of population live outside of centres of 1,500 people ► Population decline most pronounced in this region in more remote rural EDs. ► Large network of smaller towns.. Lack clear role ► Rapid growth of smaller towns under influence of larger city. ► Source: Census 2002

People: Employment trends ► Between 2000 and 2006 there was a rise in overall employment of 95,000 ► Long term decline in numbers employed in agriculture. But WR still accounts for 30% of all employed in agriculture. ► Of the 347,000 employed in the WR almost 50,000 are employed in construction ► Region is very dependent on employment in agriculture, forestry and fishing. ► Industrial production is in line with nation trends but hi tech sector concentrated around Galway Clare and the rest of the region is more traditional.

Places ► What do we mean by rural? ► White Paper: towns outside 5 major cities (64%) ► NSS ► NDP: uses CSO definition ► Others ► OECD: less than 150 persons per km 2 (54% popn) ► CSO: population outside towns of 1,500 (40%) ► Why is this important?

Places ► Working and living in rural areas ► Living rural, working rural ► Farming ► SoHos ► Living rural, working urban ► Spread of Dublin ► Western Pattern (Galway) ► Small towns, where do they fit in?

What is the future for working and living in rural areas? ► Agriculture and natural resources: in what form? ► Commuting? ► Locally based enterprises? ► SoHos— Small Office Home Office? ► Other? Broadband is a basic requirement for new enterprise in rural areas ► WDC policy work

WDC Rural Enterprises Case Studies ► In depth case studies of 10 rural enterprises (SME) ► Covers broad spectrum from traditional to modern, natural resource based to hi-tech ► Focus on issues facing them as rural businesses ► Findings: infrastructure, staff, funding, networking and the future ► Report to be published in April

Look West Campaign ► Key strategic objective for WDC – attracting jobs and skills to the region ► Need to present a more positive image of the West and highlight what has been achieved ► Evident interest in relocation among ► those originally from the West ► those looking for ‘lifestyle dividend’

West Living, West Business, West Leisure ► Look West highlights the positive aspects and advantages of life in the Western Region such as:  Lower commuting times, cost of living, house prices  Cheaper childcare costs and more places  Resources and amenities  Job and business opportunities

Current Look West Campaign

Policy: Rural White Paper- Enterprise in rural areas ► Committed to promoting an enterprising culture in rural areas, to creating the conditions for investment, encouraging and supporting local enterprise and attracting inward investment in order to provide the maximum number of income and employment opportunities (p43) ► Focus on SME ► Back to Work ► Self Employment ► Social Economy Also covers Agriculture, Food, Tourism and Marine/Natural Resources Published 1999

National Spatial Strategy (NSS) and rural areas  Covers all the county but main focus is on gateways and hubs  Commuting is taken for granted?  Argues that efficient agricultural, marine and natural resources sectors, together with significant and developing sectors such as tourism, enterprise and local services and other sources of off-farm employment, will be the mainstays of a strong rural economy.  Suggests that smaller towns and village strengths lie in their capacity to accommodate employment, residential and other functions on the basis of their lower costs and quality of life  Vision for rural areas?

NDP Transforming Ireland: A better quality of life for all ► Brings together many existing policies ► Development of infrastructure (road, broadband, transport, energy) ► Enterprise and employment (EI, IDA, CEBs) ► Agriculture Policy and Rural Development programme/LEADER ► Tourism, Marine, Social Inclusion ► Vision for rural areas?

Rural Development Programme ► Programme largely farm based in focus ► Axis 3 is broader but smaller ► Includes some support for business creation and development. ► To position rural areas to provide economic activity of sufficient mass to attract people to live and work there and so offer a counter balance to the economic pull of Gateway towns ► Small enterprise space ► Range of assistance for start ups ► Fostering rural entrepreneurship ► Vision for rural areas?

Conclusions ► Generally accepted view in policy that cities will drive growth ► Natural resource-based development and tourism are essential to the development of regional economies ► WDC believes that it is important that the development of rural areas is not limited to these sectors or that commuting is not the only significant alternative for those seeking employment in other sectors ► Vision for the future?