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Young people want to see farming incentivised as an occupation in rural areas, a newly published report from the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) has said.
Young people from counties Mayo, Waterford, Wicklow and Tipperary recommended greater investment in regions to provide educational and employment opportunities, particularly in farming.
The report Youth Work in Rural Ireland was commissioned to highlight the challenges faced by young people in rural Ireland and to explore measures to address their needs.
It is hoped the report will feed in to a whole-of-Government rural development policy for Ireland that is currently in the works at the Department for Community and Rural Development.
Public transport
Limited public transport was identified as one of the biggest challenges facing young people. The report said it hindered contact with others, impeded access to services available in urban settings and reinforced a sense of social isolation.
The importance of agriculture was recognised by the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohue in Budget 2020. The report referenced a speech made by Minister Donohue in the Dáil in which he said agriculture and rural development were “cornerstones of our economy, supporting thousands of jobs in increasingly diverse areas”.
However, the report also made cited a report from the Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas which found the decline in tradition industries such as farming had led to a rise in youth migration.
Revitalise
Marie-Claire McAleer, head of research and policy at the NYCI stated: “Ensuring rural Ireland is an attractive place for young people to live is integral to the revitalisation of rural Ireland.
We welcome the development of the new rural development policy and hope the findings and recommendations of this report contribute to actions and measures to support as many young people as possible to live and thrive in our rural communities, villages and towns.”
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