SEAMUS BOLAND,
Madam, - In his recent Irish Times article on rural issues, Cardinal Cathal Daly raised a number of points about rural and economic decline.
He noted that the 2002 census showed a huge population increase, but an imbalanced one, with most of the growth occurring in Dublin and east Leinster.
He cited the example of the Vendée in western France, where local development groups set about solving problems such as poor infrastructure, services and work opportunities.
In Ireland too there are rural community development groups, formed in the late 1980s and early 1990s with similar objectives. In those days, they were pioneers. They advocated rural development programmes at a time when emigration and unemployment was rampant.
Today many of these groups are responsible for arresting serious decline in their own communities. Through a range of partnerships and Leader programmes, many economic and social initiatives have been developed. They were assisted mainly by FÁS, which promoted community employment and enterprise programmes. Indeed, were it not for FÁS, much of the success now visible in almost every community in Ireland would not have been possible.
What this demonstrates is that rural and community development happened by accident, not Government policy.
However, All of this development is now threatened by policy change.
These same FÁS community development programmes are under threat.
Rural communities dependent on them are now faced with the suspension of many local and essential services.
In addition, many of the people who participated in these programmes must now return to unemployment - or in some cases disability assistance.
Seeking employment that brings them away from their communities is often not an option, since many also have to care for dependent relatives.
Cardinal Daly hopes the pending National Spatial Strategy will address many of the infrastructure problems that increase economic and rural decline. I hope it will also address the many social and community development needs, particularly in areas that have lost their young people. - Yours, etc.,
SEAMUS BOLAND, National Co-ordinator, Irish Rural Link, Moate Business Park, Co Westmeath.