Securing Fairness and Wellbeing in a Land of Plenty 2005- A Rural Perspective

A Rural Perspective Seamus Boland

Some would say that inequality is more pronounced in times of wealth

and high economic growth. The relatively large investment in our

overall infrastructure has transformed the country, and brought us

almost on par with what a modern country should look like. In a

country the size of Ireland it should be straightforward to assume that

such development should benefit all of the country in equal measures.

However the intense growth experienced in the Dublin and Eastern

region has led to widening of the gap in terms of income, and

opportunity between the East and West, as was confirmed in the recent

Combat Poverty report ‘Mapping Poverty’.

As a means of ensuring fairness in regional terms, the publication of

the National Spatial Strategy (NSS) was generally welcomed, and seen

as an acknowledgement by government that deficiencies in regional

development, will, if not corrected, result in huge inequality within our

society. The main objective as stated in the NSS is to achieve more

balanced regional development along with a better quality of life for

every one, as well as a vibrant urban and rural areas and a better

environment, supported by more effective planning