For a better rural Ireland

"MY ambition as Minister for Rural Development is to make rural Ireland a more attractive place to live in and for it to be on a par with the standards of living and services enjoyed by urban dwellers." That's the plain message from Noel Davern, who recently published a White Paper on Rural Development that outlines the ambitions of the programme for the next seven years.

The process has been a lengthy one, with six different seminars, 161 submissions and co-ordination between 14 different Government Departments.

Noel Davern sees the problems of rural Ireland as a possible destabilising influence on the community and potentially very damaging to Ireland's future development.

"The figures show that there has been an increase of 37 per cent recently in urban populations but only a seven per cent increase in rural areas. However, if you take areas like Meath, Kildare and Wicklow out of that, the increase in rural areas is a lot less."

So how can this be addressed? "We need to build up the smaller rural towns. I think Bobby Molloy's urban renewal scheme for small towns is a very good idea. Without the proper facilities, small towns cannot function and are of no use to the inhabitants. Take a doctor, for instance; a small town must be able to sustain his practice or he will move elsewhere, and that area will be without a basic facility. This type of cluster development is much better than the ribbon development of the past that did not contribute to the community. At the same time we feel that someone from an area should be allowed to live there and be favourably considered when it comes to planning. But that is a matter for the local councils, and we can't dictate to them.

"One area we have looked at is rural schools and Minister (for Education) Micheál Martin has dropped the requirement for a two-teacher school from 26 to 14 pupils. This is a real step forward."

Public transport

There are more cars than ever on our roads, yet rural communities are still very badly serviced by public transport. So how can this problem be addressed? "We have a pilot scheme going in Feakle, Co Clare, an area that is not served by public transport. Every Thursday morning, for the past year, a school bus that has finished its run leaves to go to Ennis at 9.30 am and comes back at 3 pm. People with travel passes go for nothing and the maximum charge is £5, whereas a hackney fare costs £15. The scheme has been a great success, with an average of 37 passengers using the service. I think it will be up to the new County Development teams to make sure that everywhere is accessible."

What are these County Development teams? "They will consist of relevant bodies such as Leader, IFA, ICA, ICMSA and all those who have an interest in developing each county."

Getting back to transport, Noel Davern said the Government also will look at the rail network. "There is no doubt that the Sligo line beyond Mullingar is a disaster and needs major funding. There is a massive allocation for roads in the new seven-year plan that the Government is implementing to 2006. We know that lack of infrastructure in the past has discouraged industry from setting up in rural areas; the cost of transport was simply too high. The new development plan will change that and up to £38 billion will be spent, the vast majority of it from our own resources."

He adds: "Our emphasis will be to get people out into rural areas and the possibilities afforded by technology, along with a high level of technological training, will allow us to achieve that. In the UK in 1997 there were over a million people working from home into offices, and this figure is growing by 200,000 per year. We need to keep pace with this development."

Farm women

This brings Noel Davern onto one of his favourite subjects. "One of the most under-utilised resources of our time is the farm wife. She is a jewel and, as we run short of labour supply, these extraordinary women are easily capable of working with new technological opportunities from the home. I am married to a farmer myself and I recognise the talent that farm women have; it has not been appreciated up to now. It may be a necessity in future that farm wives go out or, indeed, stay in to work, in order to keep the holding viable.

"I am setting up a new committee to investigate the impediments to women getting back into a more active role in rural life. The invitations have been sent out to various interested parties and we hope to be set up by October."

Future of Leader?

In all this planning for the future, where do the present institutions, such as Leader, come in? "There is nothing yet on Leader. What we have seen so far from the EU is very small money. They say that Leader may not apply to all rural areas -- it may be more specifically targeted. There definitely will be Leader in the future in the form of Leader Plus, but we cannot finalise it until the EU says what it is going to do. There will definitely be fewer groups in future. For example, there are three Leader groups in Mayo, two in Kerry and one in Cork. It's doubtful if all these will remain; some rationalisation is needed."

Noel Davern is adamant that there will be no consideration of projects after the end of this year. "We have changed the operating rules so that up to £200,000, or 70 per cent of some projects, can be funded in order to facilitate maximum drawdown."

He recognises that Leader has been very innovative in some areas, especially in motivating and animating communities. He also sees a problem for some groups that staff will move on because of the uncertainty over funding, but he says the European Commission decision on Leader funding won't be known until November -- the delay being partly due to the Brussels turmoil earlier this year. "We want the Commission to decide quickly so staff won't go to positions that seem more secure. But, either way, we have a resource of good rural administrators with a feel for rural development."

Rural proofing

The idea of rural proofing means that any proposal affecting rural areas will have to be assessed by the renamed Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. There will also be a rural development forum to be set up by the end of October.

Noel Davern is adamant that this will not be a talking shop where boring, repetitious speeches are the order of the day. "If you can get a lot of sensible people, you can get on and discuss what's important. We have a million pounds allocated for research into any area we wish to further explore."

Where does agriculture fit into all this? "I am worried at the way that some farmers are trying to convince themselves into thinking that they have no future in farming. World food demand is rising and if we have the right food we can do well. Take liquid milk: Consumption is static at best, but there is no concerted effort to promote the health aspects of milk. We all drink milk in my house, but it's a question of perception."

He adds: "I think commercial farmers will always be there, but the role of smaller farmers will change to part-time or becoming guardians of the countryside, and producing quality not quantity. I am convinced that if we persist with the highest standards of produce, we will eventually crack the high value European market."

There are many farmers over 65 years of age who are not eligible for the retirement scheme. "We need to find a system to encourage them to lease their farms to younger farmers. This is being actively considered and will be a national scheme. The young person would acquire production capacity and the older person could continue with dignity."

Older people

Speaking of older people, Noel Davern says that there is a great need for communities to mature and take care of the older people among them. "Time is not so important that we can't spend five minutes calling in on an old person to see if they are all right. We emphasised in the White Paper that the indigenous population cannot be replaced. You lose the old culture and traditions, and it's only by caring that we can really rebuild the community. Any society that does not respect its aged does not respect its own future.

"Old people have a huge sense of loyalty, even after their children move away. I met an old woman recently, who rarely sees her children and who needs to be in a nursing home. But who won't sell her property because then she will have nothing to leave her children, who are all abroad anyway."

Political correctness

Noel Davern is worried that the present trend toward exactitude will stifle development. "Political correctness will make eunuchs out of all of us; there will be no humanity left in any of us. The old system of passing comments on a Government file was excellent. Now, where balance requires a human consideration, this will not be possible in future."