Rural jobs are key to vibrant communities

IT IS barely 10 days since the launch of the National Development Plan (NDP), which emphasised support for rural Ireland, offsetting east-coast development in other regions. But now details of the lack of work in smaller towns gives us further reason for concern. In some 25 towns across the greater Dublin area, and Cork, Clare, Wexford, Waterford and Louth, there is an exodus of workers each day as they head to large urban areas for work and a livelihood. This data comes in the small print of support documentation for the NDP.

It shows these towns are effectively dormitory towns which are home to more than 57,000 workers. The problem is that fewer than 12,000 jobs are available in these towns – hence the daily exodus.

It is all compounded by poor public transport, which makes it more than likely these commutes involve a return car journey to and from employment for each worker.

These and other figures are based on Census 2016. They show the enormous uphill challenge of creating jobs anywhere outside of major population centres.

The data tells us about the number of jobs available in almost 200 urban areas across the State. We find a total of 63 areas have more jobs than workers living locally.

A stand-out example is the Kerry town of Killorglin which has 2,038 jobs against a resident worker population of 922. That is good news for the town’s hinterland, but also a strong argument for better public transport in the area.

Economic reality dictates it will be hard to generate jobs in areas where they have not already been located. But that does not mean tour planners should stop trying. More could be made of the ready-made workforce in a given area.

Overall, the data show us we will need more than glossy plans to succeed with a complex set of aims.