Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)

The Government's White Paper on Rural Development in 1999 committed itself to a long-term vision of rural society and drew up various strategies to ensure the maintenance of vibrant and sustainable rural communities. The White Paper was widely welcomed at the time in that it provided the outline of a vision to guide rural development policy.

While there is no common definition of the term "rural" within Europe, in Ireland the census of population defines "rural" as all areas outside towns of more than 1,500 people. Using this yardstick, Ireland has 43% of its population classified as rural, which amounts to a great many votes. Farm numbers have continued to decline between the 1996 and 2002 census, as rural Ireland continues to change. This shift in the patterns of agriculture continues to have major consequences for rural society generally. A sea change in current development policies which are mainly urban-led is also essential. Crucial issues, for which the current policies are woefully inadequate, include infrastructure development, national spatial imbalance, public transport and local input in core decision-making. On practically each test, the Government has failed miserably.

The much vaunted national spatial strategy, with its aim of promoting balanced regional development, appears to be a dead duck. It appeared to give some hope to less developed regions and rural communities that economic growth would be distributed in a balanced way. The Government gave a commitment to addressing in the national spatial strategy the problem of rural poverty. In the budget for 2004, we were treated to decentralisation mark two which appeared to dole out relocation "goodies" to a raft of communities throughout the country. These communities were at variance with the spatial strategy areas whose citizens must now be wondering what exactly the terms "gateway" and "hub" mean. It appears that both the national spatial strategy and decentralisation fall into the category of kites flown without any consultation. These kites have now fallen to earth in tatters. It appears they will be milked in the upcoming elections for maximum political capital.

While rural development is ultimately about people, a central element is sustainability. The term "sustainable development" originated in the 1970s and has been defined as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".

Education is a major concern for each community. Many of the nation's schools are being allowed to run down, have a litany of structural defects and have been used as election fodder by the Government at appropriate times. We recall the separate lists being bandied about prior to the general election in 2002, and the utter cynicism of rural parents for Department promises. Substandard accommodation in rural schools should be upgraded as a priority. All rural schools should have a minimum staff of two teachers. It is an almost impossible task for a lone teacher in a school. There is the example of Knocknagrave national school where it is proposed to get rid of one of the two teachers while student numbers are increasing on an annual basis, and will continue to increase in the future. Pre-school services in rural areas are almost non-existent. Many parents must drive very young children long distances from home to attend pre-school in towns.

Many of the proposals in the White Paper are desirable and could make a major difference to the lives of people living in rural Ireland. In the provision of health care services, the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness favours the opposite of centralising these services À la Hanly. The people of County Monaghan and rural Border communities are being deprived of basic medical services through the downgrading of Monaghan General Hospital.

County Monaghan has been poorly served by the Government in the area of tourism. In its 2004 tourism brochure, the north-west tourism body makes barely a passing reference to the tourism attractions of County Monaghan. In eco-tourism, a number of worthy projects in County Monaghan have been passed over for sports capital fund grant aid. These include the Derryvalley Wetlands project at Ballybay, the Concra Wood lakeshore and heritage development at Castleblayney, and Monaghan swimming pool.

See this speech in context