Green Party’s 10 year plan will ‘see rural Ireland rise’
RURAL Ireland is ‘in freefall’, and the launch of a ten year plan by the Green Party will see it rise again, according to Sligo/Leitrim General Election candidate Blaithin Gallagher.
Speaking at the launch of the party’s ‘Manifesto for Rural Ireland’ in Portlaoise on Monday, Gallagher said: “As a result of failure by successive governments to act, rural Ireland in so many cases is in free fall. In response, this manifesto provides the core of a 10 year plan to reverse this hollowing out of rural society. If elected I will ensure that it is delivered on too”.
“Rural communities are fundamental to our national identity. At the heart of these communities are our family farms.
“This is especially true in the North West”. She continued. “I support a shift away from an industry led model to one that puts farmers at the centre.
“The Green Party seeks a new way forward based on creative and productive conversations with farmers and the wider rural community.”
She added: “Our Rural Manifesto sets out practical solutions which can restore the natural world and at the same time improve our quality of life in rural Ireland. This is a ten-year challenge because it will take more than one government to deliver the scale of change we need.
“We will not make the necessary leap to a thriving, low-carbon rural Ireland, if we see it as a divisive issue between rural and urban Ireland, or between young and old, or if we turn it into a fight between traditional political factions. “For the transition to be a success, we must work to rebuild a sense of community in our towns and villages and begin the process of devolving decision-making authority to local political structures,” she concluded.