Here’s yet another national recovery plan
IFI see another national plan unveiled I’ ll probably scream. Why do Governments constantly feel they have to launch plans? Big ones at that and cite them as major progress? Do the PR machines feel there should be a plan launched every couple of years so that the public know what it is attempting to do rather than actually delivering?
Under previous plans Sligo didn’t progress.I just don’t get this latest plan announcement by the Government. In case you missed it or were completely switched off or bored when you initially heard about it, it’s simply called; ‘Our Rural Future, Ireland’s Rural Development Policy 2021-2025.’
Where it fits into the many other national plans announced by successive governments over the past 20 years, I just don’t know. The Government promises us that there is a link between all the plans.
Where does the latest one leave Sligo? We were once a designated Gateway City in 2004 under a much lauded national plan, then we either got promoted or went sideways when becoming a Regional Centre for Growth under Project Ireland 2040 which was launched with great fanfare at IT Sligo in February 2018.
Project Ireland 2040 was termed the government’s “long-term overarching strategy to make Ireland a better country for all of its people.”
Now, we have another plan, this one aimed at rural Ireland. So, does this mean Sligo will benefit on the double under both plans or are the same objectives included in both?
The Government says the new plan will help rural Ireland to recover from the impacts of COVID-19, enable long-term development of rural areas, and create more resilient rural economies and communities for the future. Much of the plan’s objectives are based around good broadband so that basically workers can stay at home and don’t clog up our roads with traffic.
This alone will revitalise our town centres, reduce commuting times, lower transport emissions and most importantly improve the quality of life of our people said the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys at the launch in Croke Park.
“The move to remote working, underpinned by the rollout of the National Broadband Plan, has the potential to transform Rural Ireland like never before.”
So that’s it in a nutshell, Covid-19 has brought about this great opportunity.