Dr. Tadhg O'Mahony:

I thank Deputy Ó Cathasaigh. It is a really interesting question he asks. It comes back to how we understand challenges and opportunities. We have an approach that is effectively dominated by a reliance on economics to make decisions. It is now acknowledged that there are strategic elements that this approach cannot capture. There are elements, risks and different public policy priorities around things like sustainability, well-being and biodiversity that it cannot capture. There is a whole strategic element that needs to be done before. That involves understanding where we can go in the future and where we want to go. If we want a vibrant, prosperous and sustainable future for rural Ireland, we have to ask what that involves.

What is our vision and how will we include the people of rural Ireland in developing that vision, rather than just relying on continuing to maximise economic production and hoping that trickles down? It has not happened and it has also led to a biodiversity crisis, growing greenhouse gas emissions, problems with water quality and a whole host of other challenges. That is why we also need to work on the strategic aspect. We do not have enough of that, although there is a growing appetite for it. For example, "strategic foresight" is one of the phrases that comes through. I understand the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform is interested in it. It needs to be considered. It means that risks can be better managed, opportunities can be seen and all of the things that models cannot do can be done. There are some things that models cannot do. They do not handle social, cultural, political and institutional concerns and they often do not deal well with structural changes. It would be valuable to have participative exercises, to sit down with people and ask them how they envision their futures or where they think this will go, based on current pathways. It is a different way of doing things, one based on systems thinking, reflection and creativity. It can excite people and change the policy discourse.