Fine Gael TD for Limerick, Patrick O’Donovan has welcomed the report of the Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas (CEDRA) – “Energising Ireland’s Rural Economy”- which was published yesterday. The report was jointly commissioned in September 2012 by Minister Phil Hogan, T.D., and Minister Simon Coveney, T.D. in recognition that a number of commitments relating to economic development contained in the Programme for Government, in particular, commitments to encourage job creation and sustainable enterprise development, are reliant on the ability of all parts of Ireland to contribute to economic growth going forward.
Deputy O’Donovan was the TD that originally suggested the concept of a Commission to examine ways of developing rural areas between environment and agriculture. Deputy O’ Donovan said “that an initiative like this is badly needed in rural areas because unemployment has increased more in rural areas particularly in small towns since the economic crisis began, with a large portion of the figure being related to the collapse of the building industry.”
The Commission which is chaired by Pat Spillane and consists of a range of experts in both rural and economic development have now produced this report that addresses not only the frameworks required at national level to support rural economic development but also the human and resource potential in rural Ireland. The report contains 34 recommendations and is the culmination of a large body of work throughout 2013.
Deputy O’Donovan said that the publication of the Commission’s report shows that this Government has a plan for rural Ireland. The previous Government and its policies left rural Ireland completely exposed to the strong economic headwind that hit our country. Change for the better is coming. New ways of helping people are being rolled out across the country to give everyone the opportunity to update their skills, to work, to start their own business and to raise their family in the place they call home.
“It is important to integrate the views of rural people into the policy making process and the importance of local knowledge and experience is important in any process. This report embodies the views of the people who live and work in rural Ireland who have a deep desire to support the development of the rural economy into the future. The recommendations contained in this report are far reaching and involve a jointed up approach by the Government Departments and state agencies and will facilitate the potential of rural communities to actively participate in their own development and make a significant contribution to the future development of the Irish economy as a whole”.
This report is available on www.ruralireland.ie and the websites of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government www.environ.ie and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine www.agriculture.gov.ie.