The economic gap between the north and west of Ireland and the rest of the State is growing, with underinvestment in infrastructure such as ports, a conference has heard.
The challenges facing rural and island communities were discussed at the North Atlantic Forum (NAF) biennial conference in Atlantic Technological University Connemara and Connemara West, Letterfrack, Co Galway.
About 80 participants from Ireland, Scotland, England, Canada, and the USA are attending the four-day conference on “Sustainable Livelihoods”, which includes three field trips focused on community-led development initiatives, cultural heritage, and natural resource development.
Denis Kelly, Director of the Northern and Western Regional Assembly (NWRA) examined the economic performance of the west and border region and set out a range of indices that indicate that the gap is growing between this region and the rest of Ireland.
He highlighted the European Commission’s “Regional Competitiveness Index” 2022, which shows that the Northern and Western Region of Ireland’s transport infrastructure index score was ranked 218th out of 234, implying that the region had the 17th worst transport infrastructure ranking.
“This region has been historically underserved in the provision of high-quality infrastructure, whether it be in traditional forms of infrastructure – such as roads, rail or ports – or more modern forms of infrastructure such as broadband and research facilities,”he said.
“This underinvestment needs to be addressed to avoid long lasting consequences on the northern and western region of Ireland”, he said.
Kelly called for an ‘integrated approach’ to the delivery of investment of scale with positive discrimination towards this region and deliver regional equity to enable the huge economic performance of this region to be delivered for our communities.
Keynote speaker Prof Tony Varley (Emeritus), University of Galway, identified key transitions that had big consequences for the distribution and redistribution of social and economic power within the Irish countryside.
Varley discussed the unevenness of rural power transitions, the changing roles of different levels of government, and the role of community-based movements.
The North Atlantic Forum is a“collegial assembly” which builds on a network established by the North Atlantic Islands Programme at the University of Prince Edward Island, Canada.
It is an informal network of researchers, regional policy-makers, and practitioners from the North Atlantic region who share research and best practices and support community, business, and government exchanges across the region for increased collaboration and partnerships.
