Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region SECTION (1): CONTRASTING IRISH REGIONS II: THE DUBLIN REGION

Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region PHYSICAL PROCESSES Climate Cool temperate oceanic/maritime Warmer and drier than the Western Region Temperatures: 16ºC in the summer and between 5 and 6ºC in the winter Rainfall: 800 mm of rainfall annually Rainfall is lower than elsewhere in country

Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region PHYSICAL PROCESSES Climate (continued) Rain shadow effect: most precipitation is lost before the Atlantic depressions reach the Dublin region Daylight: the region receives 4 hrs sunshine per day Growing season: is approximately 270 days Crops planted in the Dublin region ripen earlier than crops elsewhere Coastal location: frost has less of an effect on the area in spring

Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region PHYSICAL PROCESSES Soils Soil type is mainly brown earths A deep fertile soil that is easily cultivated High humus content derived from the plant litter of deciduous forests that once covered the region Alluvial deposits laid down by the local rivers are highly productive In the northern section of the region, marine, light, sandy soils are free draining and ideal for market gardening/horticulture Blanket bogs are found in the Dublin Mountains

Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region PHYSICAL PROCESSES Relief and drainage Lowland area that is undulating towards the north and west Has good drainage, as the main rock type is limestone, a permeable sedimentary rock which allows water to drain freely Rivers, e.g. River Liffey, Tolka and Dodder

Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region PRIMARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES Agriculture Dublin region is highly productive and commercial even though the area only has about 1,500 farms, a little over 1 per cent of the national total Highly urbanised Farm incomes are 40 per cent higher than the national average Lowland nature Farming is highly mechanised and intensive, e.g. the region produces 11 per cent of the national wheat crop and 15 per cent of the national potato crop

Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region PRIMARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES Agriculture (continued) Deep, fertile soils High yields of tillage crops e.g. wheat and barley Malting barley is used for the brewing and distilling industry Protein-rich barley is used for animal feed Farming output is high due to demands of a nearby large and wealthy urban market Due to close proximity to Dublin city transport costs for agricultural products are low

Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region PRIMARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES Agriculture (continued) Age profile of farmers is lower than in the West Region does not suffer from outward migration Farmers are well educated – use a market orientated and scientific approach Farmers specialise in market gardening – migrant workers from nearby Dublin city are used for labour Farms are constantly under threat from urban sprawl – encouraging farming in the area to be intensive and profitable

Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region PRIMARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES Fishing Main fishing port in the Dublin region is Howth; it is the third largest port in Ireland with a value of €5 million Dublin Bay prawns make up 40 per cent of the total shellfish exported from Ireland Fishing in the Dublin region is declining Overfishing: in the 1960s, 35 per cent of fish landed in Ireland were caught in Dublin ports; 3 per cent in 2000 Aquaculture is limited Irish Sea is more polluted than the Atlantic Ocean

Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region SECONDARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES Manufacturing Activities 25 per cent of Ireland’s manufacturing industries and 40 per cent of people employed in the manufacturing sector are in this region Nodal point: a focus of routeways, rail and air networks in Ireland EU and worldwide markets Direct governmental involvement during the 1990s resulted in 60 per cent of all new industry developed in Dublin region

Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region SECONDARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES Manufacturing Activities (continued) Low rate of corporate tax of 12.5 per cent for new industries Modern infrastructure, state-of-the-art telecommunication links and easily accessible industrial estates Abundant well-educated workforce 80 per cent of Ireland’s colleges are located in the region

Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region SECONDARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES Manufacturing Activities (continued) Low age profile as 45 per cent of population are under 25 years of age Industrial output per worker is higher in the Dublin region as are manufacturing wages which are 10 per cent higher than the national average As the people of the Dublin region are wealthier than other areas this attracts producers of luxury-based goods Location of the largest financial services sector in the country is in the IFSC in Dublin: businesses can avail of its financial management and business development advice services

Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region SECONDARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES B. Location of industry Traditional brewing and distilling, e.g. Guinness, and printing, e.g. Irish Independent Modern growth industries of internet technology, e.g. Google, and pharmaceutical, e.g. Pfizer Traditionally located within the city limits because of close proximity to the port and a good supply of local manual labour Newer industries have tended to locate on the outskirts of Dublin city in close proximity to the M50 as it is easily accessible Close to a large labour pool in the satellite towns More spacious sites available

Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region SECONDARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES Example: Wyeth/Pfizer Biopharmaceutical in Clondalkin 95 per cent of people employed in the plant have third level qualifications Employs over 1,000 people Invested over €640 million in Science Foundation Ireland

Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region SECONDARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES Manufacturing is also now widely dispersed Five of the world’s top 10 software companies located here Dublin region is highly dependent on foreign investment with over 800 of its companies from overseas and 350 of those US-based companies An issue that is worrying the Irish government Hit with many job losses: in 2005 alone 43 per cent of the 21,500 job losses nationally were in the Dublin region

Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region TERTIARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES Tourism The region is the main point of entry for visitors to the country Benefited from the removal of Shannon as a stopover point 27 per cent of Irish visitors stay in region Tourism earns €1 billion for the region annually In 2008 over 4 million tourists visited Dublin 90 per cent of all scheduled air flights to Ireland land at Dublin airport A year round business

Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region TERTIARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES Tourism (continued) Governmental involvement Easily accessible for visitors because of the many modes of public transport Dublin City Council’s involvement Well-developed accommodation Faílte Ireland has a very successful marketing strategy for the Dublin region A city break location, third most popular city break destination in 2003

Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region TRANSPORT Most efficient transport system in the country Governmental investment under the NDP Dublin port processes 50 per cent of Irish trade Dublin airport is the largest in the country and a major employer; it handled 20.9 million passengers in 2009 Well developed public transport system with Dublin Bus, DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) and the LUAS light rail system Suffers badly from traffic congestion

Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region TRANSPORT (continued) 90 per cent of all commercial transport is by road In 1997 during peak times traffic speed had been reduced in the city to 14 km per hour Introduced the Transport 21 scheme In 2006 construction of Dublin Port Tunnel Upgrade the M50 Create seven new LUAS lines

Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region TRANSPORT (continued) Expansion of the DART lines to double its capacity Expansion of QBCs A fivefold increase in taxi numbers Government need to introduce a policy of higher density housing along public transport routes This is in line with the European model of cities Urban infill is also a policy that could be investigated

Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region THE GROWTH OF DUBLIN CITY Expanded rapidly since the 1950s Zone of influence is now a large proportion of the Eastern half of the country Dominant primate city Founded by the Vikings in the ninth century Low-lying land at the mouth of Dublin Bay Bridging point Centre of trade and administration Focus of road and rail networks

Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region THE GROWTH OF DUBLIN CITY (continued) Combined population of Dublin City, Wicklow, Kildare and Meath is 1.6 million In 1971, Dublin City had 35.7 per cent of the population and this is likely to increase to almost 46 per cent of the national population by 2020 if current trends continue Leader in economic performance Average economic output per worker is 108 per cent higher than the national average Centre of Irish Government and the headquarters of many private companies

Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region THE GROWTH OF DUBLIN CITY (continued) City has expanded due to influx of foreign migrants and rural to urban migration Wide variety of educational and healthcare services Excellent communications systems Modern telecommunication services 1970s uncontrolled expansion of the city Planners designed and created new towns on Dublin’s rural-urban fringe, e.g. Blanchardstown

Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region THE GROWTH OF DUBLIN CITY (continued) People continually leaving the city to live within commutable distance as house prices in the city are still up to €100,000 more expensive than in the rest of the country 2007 a new town to the west developed – Adamstown People move to Kildare, Meath and Wicklow and commute to the city for work Massive traffic congestion Workers live as far away as Carlow (90 km) from the city centre

Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region THE GROWTH OF DUBLIN CITY (continued) Newly dispersed Dublin City: three new county councils – Dun Laoghaire, Fingal and South Dublin county councils – were created Dublin Corporation is responsible for issues such as water, sewage and other public services Irish government – National Spatial Strategy (NSS) to combat the growth of Dublin by establishing gateways, e.g. Galway and hubs, e.g. Kilkenny Encourage development in the gateway and hub locations in the Dublin region

Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region THE GROWTH OF DUBLIN CITY (continued) The NSS will encourage that:  vacant land in the city will be listed and redeveloped  existing housing is utilised  old warehouses are regenerated for business use  older people are moved to smaller houses to make larger houses more available to families