Rural Ireland needs "a hand up, not a handout"

 

Fears were expressed that rural Ireland will be “forgotten about” in the National Planning Framework (NPF) 2040 at a packed meeting in Athlone last night (Monday).

Organised by the Coalition Against the National Planning Framework in the Hodson Bay Hotel, the meeting was attended by over 300 people, including local public representatives, business owners, farmers and rural dwellers from right across the Midlands.

The Coalition called for “a significant overhaul” of the NPF so that it better serves the country as a whole, and not just urban areas.Tipperary Labour TD, Alan Kelly, described the Plan as “singularly the most important thing for the country” and said, in its current format, it “isn't ambitious enough, it's quite generic and it lacks vision.”

Deputy Kelly was anxious to kill the myth that last night's meeting was “anti-Dublin or anti-urban” and he said it was “equally as bad for Dublin as it is for rural areas.”

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice said the huge turnout at the meeting was “a statement of intent” in relation to rural concerns about the NPF, and he noted the fact that political representatives from 14 rural counties were among the capacity attendance. “That, in itself, tells its own story; it tells us there is a genuineness of people wanting to come together to make sure that this Plan is done right” said Deputy Fitzmaurice.

“We’re not opposed to plans. We want to make it better. We want to make sure that – for our generation and the next generation – this will give hope, that this will give us a future, that this will give the kids that had to travel alternatives, and maybe having the opportunity to work closer or beside where they were reared or born,” he said.

The independent TD explained that the statistics in the current draft plan indicate that 50% of all the extra people going forward will live in cities, that 23% will live in larger towns and that 16% will stay in rural Ireland.

It is projected in the draft that 50% of all new homes will be built in cities, he added.

The reality of the plan in its present form is that you can draw a line from Dublin to Galway, seemingly the counties north of that don’t seem to exist.

“There is an opportunity now, going forward, for this to be got right,” he said, adding that he wouldn't swap his life for a minute. “Living in rural Ireland is one of the greatest freedoms and one of the greatest places you can live. It’s not a handout we want – no one ever looks for that – it’s a hand up. It’s to try and be given the opportunity to make sure that the next generation can work in rural areas. We need to make sure that socially and economically it is viable,” said Deputy Fitzmaurice.

The independent TD outlined that the decisions made in relation to this plan will define the success of this Government.

Meanwhile, Fianna TD Eamon O Cuiv stated that rural Ireland has huge potential – but, that this plan is designed to inhibit that “enormous potential“.

Referencing author John Healy, deputy O’Cuiv said: “It’s time to shout stop. Maybe in the past we didn’t all shout stop together; but, this time we must – because, the train is leaving the station.

I think it’s time we asked ourselves a fundamental question. Are we running this country to grow an economy, or do we grow the economy to serve the people?

He added that Ireland’s cities are struggling to cope with their populations, housing issues and traffic congestion at the moment – with the draft plan looking to encourage these cities to become even larger.

Sinn Fein TD Martin Kenny. He rued the fact that young people who grew up in rural Ireland have been forced to emigrate to find work – and will continue to do so if action is not taken.

“I have four children and they’re all teenagers. Most people around me when they rear their children hope they get educated and hope they do well.

All of us look for in life that our children will do better than we do; that’s our ambition. But, where I live – in rural Co. Leitrim – we see them doing better somewhere else, not here.”

“That’s the problem for many people in many places, and that needs to change. We need to see a future for our children where we are,” he said.