Regional strategy (RSES) · Southern Region
Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy for the Southern Region
The regional strategy for the Southern Region, including the Cork, Limerick–Shannon and Waterford metropolitan area strategic plans.
Southern Regional Assembly · January 2020 · 382 pages
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- Southern Regional Assembly | RSES101 The RSES places significant emphasis on placemaking, which involves ensuring that geographical locations are attractive places to live, learn and work. Historically, the majority of firms located to a region for reasons such as the availability of raw materials, distance to specific markets and cost competitiveness of location, with workers subsequently following suit to work in the area. However, with the rise in knowledge based industries this trend has shifted, and employers are competing for qualified workers globally. Instead of expecting their workforce to come to them, employers are moving closer to where their workforce lives or facilitating remote working. Skilled workers want to live in locations with a high quality of life and companies also tend to follow suit. Placemaking policy is instrumental to ensuring that the Region captures sufficient human capital and talent. Examples of placemaking policies include: • Continuous flow of infrastructure investments in public transport to ensure connectivity and accessibility • Provision of high quality public services and community amenities • Provision of social infrastructure in health, housing, and education • Provision of green spaces, creative spaces and cultural amenities • Provision of third level infrastructure, lifelong learning and skills development opportunities The Smart City concept (see Chapter 6) plays to our strengths in ICT together with our small scale and the fundamental attractiveness of the Region constitutes an opportunity to develop a unique proposition, to attract mobile talent, entrepreneurship, FDI, and to stimulate innovation across all sectors. Internationally and nationally, skilled people and firms are increasingly gravitating to urban areas of scale and concentrations of economic activity and the growth of Cork, Limerick-Shannon and Waterford will bring such economic opportunities to the Region. This needs sustainable infrastructure development, connectivity (including high speed broadband), and facilitating skills and talent. Knowledge Diffusion The policy of “knowledge diffusion” is the spreading of knowledge - the process of knowledge transfer to different segments of society to develop a region’s human capital. The OECD identify “knowledge diffusion” as playing a critical role in growing regional economies, with growth rates highly sensitive to how easily knowledge is spread, across an area. Regions most exposed to the challenges of globalisation, automation and other technological changes are also the same geographic areas with the lowest participation in knowledge intensive/ high-skilled sectors. Encouraging collaboration between higher education institutes, the Regional Skills Fora and the Educational and Training Boards of the Region presents the potential to develop skills and knowledge in areas most exposed to technological disruption. By supporting community and education providers, our Region can ensure that knowledge and skills are spread to all citizens to help address skills shortages and lifelong learning challenges. Multinational companies, export-oriented indigenous firms and the presence of a highly skilled local workforce can also spread knowledge and skills. By facilitating greater interaction between key economic participants and our higher education institutions, we can ensure greater enhancement of our Region’s human capital and skills development - key components to regional economic growth. Clustering Clusters are a geographic or virtual concentration of interrelated companies, suppliers, and associated institutions. Fostering modern cluster policies is a strong feature of our Region’s economic strategy. This approach aims to put in place a favourable and connected regional business ecosystem in which new players can emerge and thus support the development of new industrial value chains and emerging industries. For example, there is potential to strengthen collaboration and clustering activities between foreign and Irish owned enterprises, the Region’s higher education institutions (HEIs), and communities. A cluster does not necessarily require a specific geographic location and needs to be viewed in a global context when we seek to attract FDI, as Ireland is a relatively small geographic area when compared to other jurisdictions. Clustering Case Study: Cyber Ireland - Ireland’s Cyber Security Cluster Supported by IDA Ireland through the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Cyber Ireland is hosted by Cork Institute of Technology. Cyber Ireland provides a collective voice to represent the needs of the cyber security sector across the country and is addressing key challenges including: skills needs, research, internationalisation, and the development of a national community which connects industry, academia and government. Cyber Ireland is based on cluster-style initiatives operating across Europe and internationally that have proven extremely successful in enhancing innovation, growth and competitiveness of regions, and the companies that are part of the cluster. Placemaking for enterprise development
- Southern Regional Assembly | RSES102 Capacity Building An inherent part of the economic strategy is the building of capacity to enable effective implementation and to respond to emerging challenges. There is a need to ensure we have sufficient capacity in our Region to bid for and win competitive bids for funding and to be ready to address potential risks to our economy. Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable economic growth With challenges, such as Brexit and trade wars, it is important to identify potential and challenges and be ready to act accordingly. The resilience of the Region is linked to environmental quality, climate resilience, quality of services and developing a tolerant open society. In general, what is good for society and the environment is good for the economy in the long term. The ability to develop, nurture, retain and attract talent is critical and education and training institutions are needed to develop our people’s skills and talent. The establishment of a Learning Region will build our citizen’s skills base to succeed in life and business, which is critical to securing greater economic resilience (see Chaper 7). RPO 39 Economic Opportunities and Choice for all our Citizens It is an objective to further strengthen our higher education and further education and training sector, research, development and innovation capacity, the initiatives of the Regional Skills Forums and Life Long Learning to match the diverse skills of our people with a choice of employment opportunities for all and to attract and retain a skilled labour force within our Region. 4.3 | Profile The section highlights the strengths and opportunities of the Region and outlines our employment and enterprise base. Strengths and Opportunities for the Region The region enjoys a balanced distribution of cities and key towns, which enables smaller settlements to access larger markets and the higher-level functions provided by larger urban centres. This balanced distribution offers an attractive enterprise location proposition given significant concentrations of businesses and varied enterprise base, access and connectivity to national and international markets, and available skills and talent. Nevertheless, the cities face capacity constraints such as housing shortages and significant infrastructure deficiencies. They display significant strength, hosting companies of significant scale in manufacturing and services, technology and pharmaceutical sectors. Strong concentrations of foreign and indigenous companies are also located across the Region in a variety of sectors.. Regional Context: Jobs and enterprise base profile Manufacturing has specific requirements for the transportation of goods to markets. In the case of the services sector, quality of life and placemaking are particularly important in attracting and retaining the talent needed to operate and succeed. Graph 4.3 profiles the economic composition for each SPA and local authority area.
- Southern Regional Assembly | RSES103 Our regional enterprise base and employment profile has gone through transformation in recent years. The ESRI (2018) projects an additional 55,000 people in employment in the traded, 125,000 the non-traded, and 45,000 in the government sectors for the Region. The National Competitiveness Council (2018) however warn that “the sustainability of growth could be threatened by our heavy dependence on the performance of a narrow base of firms and economic sectors. At the same time our indigenous exporting base exports a narrow range of products and services and relies on a small number of export markets.” “To remain competitive, we need a relentless focus on innovation, export diversification, productivity enhancement and new markets. Broadening our enterprise and export base is key to ensuring our economy is resilient and adaptable. Supporting the internationalisation and market diversification of Irish enterprise would contribute to making the economy more resilient to external market shocks, such as Brexit.” There is a need to build resilience in the face of global challenges. To remain competitive, we need a relentless focus on innovation, export diversification, productivity enhancement and new markets. Graph 4.3 | Economic composition RPO 40 Regional Economic Resilience It is an objective to sustainably develop, deepen and enhance our regional economic resilience by widening our economic sectors, boosting innovation, export diversification, productivity enhancement and access to new markets.
- Southern Regional Assembly | RSES104 Southern Northern & Western Eastern & Midlands 737,600 Southern Region Mid-West Region South-East Region South-West Region Employment Levels - As of Q3 2019 Employment as a share of Irish labour market 217,800 190,100 329,700 17% 32% 51% €39,979 Southern Region NationalMid-West Region South-East Region South-West Region Median Household Disposable Income - As of 2018 €41,961 €36,300 €41,800 €42,183 5.6% Southern Region 5.2% National 4.8% Mid-West Region 7.3% South-East Region 5.1% South-West Region Unemployment Rates - As of Q3 2019 Sectoral Breakdown of Employment, by Region - As of Q3 2019 Southern Region Mid-West Region South East Region South West Region Ireland Not Stated Services Construction Industry Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing 6.4% 6.4% 7.4% 5.8% 4.3% 16.6% 16.1% 15.3% 17.8% 12.6% 6.6% 6.7% 6.8% 6.5% 6.4% 70% 70.8% 70% 69.5% 76.4% 0.3% 0.1% 0.5% 0.4% 0.2%
- Southern Regional Assembly | RSES105 4.4 | Our Region’s Economic Engines This section highlights our main economic engines - our cities and their metropolitan areas, the Atlantic Economic Corridor (AEC), the Eastern Corridor, Key Towns, towns and villages. Core to our settlement strategy is convergence between improved quality of life and where people live and work. Cities: Cork, Limerick, Waterford The ESRI (2018) and Project Ireland 2040 highlight that our largest settlements are relatively small compared to other EU cities that directly compete for Foreign Direct Investment. This places our Region at a disadvantage against the attractiveness of Dublin or other large EU cities. Research (ESRI 2018) has identified that the development of scale in our cities will have regional and national benefits. The provision of infrastructure, services, housing, and amenities to attract and retain residents is critical to achieve this. The RSES promotes a co-ordinated, co-operative and collaborative intra-regional partnership approach between all of our cities and their metropolitan areas and a similar inter-regional approach with the Galway Metropolitan Area in the Northern and Western Region. This will provide a more effective counterbalance to Dublin. Good Practice: The UK Northern Powerhouse In 2015, a partnership between central and local government and the road and rail agencies in the UK published a strategic vision to transform the economy of the North of England, based primarily on a world-class transport system linking the individual cities and towns in that region. Alongside investment in skills, support for business and regeneration of the city centres, a transformation in connections between the great cities of the North and beyond would enable them to increase their productivity to meet levels currently only seen in London and the South East. The strategy’s aim is for economic growth in the North to be at least as high as the rest of the country to complement and act as a balance to the economic weight of London. The strategy is about using transport to aid change in future patterns of land use and economic growth. Rather than forecasting the future from current trends, it aims to change that future. A workforce able to move around its region, including between cities, is able to better access jobs and opportunities. A more mobile workforce means a bigger labour market which benefits businesses. Businesses which are well connected to each other can find much needed services and products, and the costs of transporting people and products are lower, and more business interactions generate new ideas and innovation. Specific funding is provided for joint projects between the Northern Powerhouse cities. Networks Atlantic Economic Corridor Eastern Corridor Towns and Villages Key Towns Region’s Economic Drivers Region’s Economic Drivers Smart Specialisation Clustering Capacity Building Knowledge Diffusion Placemaking for Enterprise Development Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable regional economy Cork City Limerick City Waterford City
- Southern Regional Assembly | RSES106 The Atlantic Economic Corridor (AEC) is a linear network along the western seaboard supported by the Department of Rural and Community Development. It is a connected spine of businesses and organisations seeking global market opportunities and investment to grow and prosper. The NPF identifies the AEC as an enabler for the regional growth and states that there is potential to extend its scope into other locations such as Cork City and County. Objectives under Chapter 6 to enhance regional connectivity will strengthen economic interactions between the Region and the AEC. The AEC fits with the European concept of polycentric development of building linkages and joining forces with neighbouring cities and towns in order to “borrow” size and quality, to ensure positive spill-over effects for the development of wider regions. An example is the existing “Knowledge Triangle” of Killarney, Tralee and Killorglin in Kerry and potential networks identified in the RSES, such as the Galway-Ennis-Shannon-Limerick (GESL) Economic Network. The aim is to achieve polycentric development across both the Southern and the Northern and Western Regional Assembly Areas to build on the advantages and opportunities that exist across the entire Atlantic Economic Corridor. The AEC also offers significant future opportunities in terms of attaining an economy that is “green” and the RSES supports the early development and implementation of this high value and low carbon proposition. The RSES also supports the development of strategic regional infrastructure assets (sea and freight ports, airports, energy generating facilities, digital and rail) connecting to this corridor. The Dublin to Belfast Corridor connects Drogheda, Dundalk and Newry by high-capacity national road and rail links, major airports of Dublin Airport, Belfast International Airport and Belfast City Airport, and Belfast and Dublin ports. The Eastern Corridor extends south to Rosslare Europort, an important economic and transport link, particularly in the post Brexit scenario. It offers extended strategic connections throughout the island of Ireland through links with the TEN-T network and the Dublin-Rosslare route. Cross-boundary coordination and maintaining an all-island economy will play a critical role in supporting economic growth and competitiveness, even more so due to Brexit. It is important that the Eastern Corridor harnesses strategic linkages such as the potential Waterford/Limerick Network and Belview Port to assist in reaching its potential. A Waterford/Limerick Network could provide collaborative potential that may assist in the development of both the AEC and Eastern Corridor. RPO 41 Atlantic Economic Corridor (AEC) It is an objective to develop the Atlantic Economic Corridor initiative as a driver for enterprise growth, investment and attracting entrepreneurial skills and talent to the rural catchments as an economic complement to the role of metropolitan areas and larger urban centres on the AEC. The RSES recognises the combined advantages and opportunities of the AEC including delivering a high-value and low-carbon economy. RPO 42 Eastern Corridor It is an objective to support the development of an Eastern Corridor through the development of the Dublin-Belfast Economic Corridor and strengthening economic links with the South- East, extending to Rosslare Europort (incl. public transport connectivity and optimising the potential for rail freight), which is an important economic and transport link, particularly in the post-Brexit scenario. Atlantic Economic Corridor Eastern Corridor Key Towns The RSES settlement strategy (Chapter 3) identifies Key Towns as part of the settlement hierarchy. Key Towns have an economic function that provides employment for their surrounding areas and wider sub regional catchment. Towns and Villages Towns and villages are an important part of the Region’s economic fabric and each plays differing roles depending on their scale and location. For example, the Roscrea Innovation and Business Park plays a significant role as a location for employment. The RSES emphasises the importance of networks between towns and villages, including cross-boundary connections. The local authorities’ digital strategies are critical in promoting and guiding on the new economic opportunities arising from digital connectivity and indigenous innovation and enterprise. This complements the more traditional natural and resource assets (e.g. food, energy, tourism) underpinned by the quality of life offering.
- Southern Regional Assembly | RSES107 Chapter 3 identifies the importance of networks, with examples of settlements sharing assets and collaborating to drive economic growth. Established networks provide evidence that collaborative approaches can drive economic growth. Potential networks identified through the RSES process offer opportunities for collaboration on initiatives to deliver this growth. However, all networks require commitment to deliver at a local level if opportunities are to be realised. In the South West, the Kerry Hub and Knowledge Triangle (Tralee, Killarney and Killorglin) is an established network with the aim to drive economic growth and capitalise on connectivity to the Cork and Limerick-Shannon Metropolitan Areas and the AEC. Shared assets include existing third level education, a technology park, ports, an airport and world leading indigenous companies in sectors, such as fin-tech and agri-tech. Investment in the Hub is key to development of a knowledge cluster and service design and innovation hub at Killorglin, focusing on research and development innovation and product prototyping. In the Mid-West SPA, the Galway-Ennis-Shannon-Limerick (GESL) Economic Network is a potential network to promote greater collaboration between the metropolitan areas of Galway, Limerick-Shannon and the Key Town of Ennis. This potential network offers opportunities for partnership to drive economic growth and innovation on a sub-regional basis. This will be particularly important for the subregional development of the AEC. The proposed network is underpinned by the presence of public transport and motorway infrastructure that connects the two main cities of scale on the west coast of Ireland. The proposed Network is much wider than just the transport link and captures parts of Counties Limerick, Clare and Galway. While the RSES process has identified the potential for collaboration actions, a commitment to deliver is required at a local level if opportunities are to be realised. In the South-East SPA, the potential Waterford-Kilkenny- Carlow-DublinM9/Rail Network, along a key north-south axis through the region, links the Waterford Metropolitan Area, Kilkenny City and Carlow Key Town with Dublin and the Eastern and Midlands Region. The M9 Motorway and rail network and provide direct access from a large inland area to the Port of Waterford and Waterford Airport with potential opportunities for more sustainable freight movements to the Port. This potential network has strong synergies through the higher education and research institutions at Carlow College, IT Carlow, WIT, St. Kieran’s College, Kilkenny and at Teagasc. This potential network will be further strengthened by the development of TUSE – the Technological University of the South-East, which will help drive development of a Learning Region and support enterprise and innovation in key industrial sectors. Networks also cross sub regional boundaries and Chapter 3 – Networks highlights the importance and potential of the Limerick – Waterford Network. Networks The Government’s Charter for Rural Ireland (2016) states that frameworks will be put in place: “To support enterprise creation and development, maintain and restore the rural cultural heritage, support and protect existing towns and settlements, facilitate safe and secure rural communities and foster an increased quality of life for all rural dwellers”. 4.5 | Rural development Sustainable rural communities are dependent on viable and vibrant towns and villages. The RSES recognises the decline of the population and services in many villages and rural areas (see chapter 3) as a problem of strategic national and regional importance. In the absence of a targeted planning strategy and associated pro-active infrastructure and support actions, this decline will continue. Rural areas have different needs depending on their assets, remoteness and population density, requiring customised solutions. Rural areas need diversity and innovation to ensure economic resilience and job creation. This requires an integrated approach to rural economic development, including support for public services. Chapter 7 deals in more depth with issues in relation to the development of our Gaeltacht areas.
- Southern Regional Assembly | RSES108 The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) supports the opportunities of the countryside as a growth area, acknowledging that “the diversity of rural areas brings considerable added value and potential for creativity and innovation and this can be turned to even better use. The CoR has produced a rich array of research to demonstrate rural potential. The Regional Assembly has developed an expertise in the direct delivery and management of EU co-funded programmes and projects, including being the national contact point for INTERREG programmes. European programmes encourage Member States to collaborate to share information, costs, results and best practices, and to generate ideas for further areas of cooperation across Europe’s land and maritime borders. These programmes see wide-ranging investment including, broadband, research and innovation, enterprise supports, sustainable energy, urban regeneration, marine and agricultural innovation. The Regional Assembly also coordinates and manages transnational INTERREG projects across a range of sectors including the marine sector, energy sector and supports for innovative small firms emerging from Incubation Centres. All projects involve partners from regions in other Member States dealing with similar issues. This European experience uniquely positions the Regional Assembly for the benefit of the Southern Region. The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 2014-20 programming period has a greater thematic concentration on the use of the funds to maximise impact in a smaller number of strategic areas. For the forthcoming 2021-2027 period, cohesion policy identifies five ‘’policy objectives’’ of: A Smarter Europe; A Greener, carbon-free Europe; A more Connected Europe; A more Social Europe; and A Europe closer to citizens. The Cork 2.0 Declaration 2016 A Better Life in Rural Areas states the determination ‘to strengthen the integration of local initiatives and rural capacity building in mainstream EU policy making, in particular through bottom-up approaches to local development such as LEADER and Community-Led Local Development’. A key regional issue is the inter-relationships between urban areas and rural hinterlands. This is of special relevance to our Region with three cities and strong network of towns closely associated with strong rural hinterlands. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) plays a significant role in the development and maintenance of rural Ireland. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s €4bn Rural Development Programme 2014-20, funded under CAP, aims to: • Enhance the competitiveness of agriculture through on-farm investment; • To ensure the sustainable management of natural resources and climate action; • To achieve balanced regional development of rural economies and communities. Pillar I of the Policy provides for a ‘greening’ payment for farmers following a specified set of farm practices that yield additional environmental benefits. Pillar II consists of measures to enhance the competitiveness of the agri-food sector, achieve more sustainable management of natural resources and ensure balanced development of rural areas, with a focus on delivering positive environmental outcomes including for water and climate change. Europe and Our Rural Region RPO 43 Rural Economy and EU Good Practices It is an objective to harness the potential of shared learning and good practice from European Programmes and policy to assist rural development. RPO 44 Common Agriculture Policy It is an objective to ensure the delivery of sustainable actions under the Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014-20 and beyond in priority areas of innovation, bio-diversity restoration, water and soil management, renewable energy and waste management, carbon conservation and sequestration, diversification, job creation and ICT development in our rural areas.
- Southern Regional Assembly | RSES109 RPO 45 Action Plan for Rural Development and Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 It is an objective to support the Action Plan for Rural Development led by the Department of Rural and Community Development and to support the development of priority areas under the Rural Development Programme 2014-20 led by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Action Plan for Rural Development The Government’s Action Plan for Rural Development, Realising Our Rural Potential, provides the framework for a co-ordinated approach across government for the economic and social development of rural communities. The Action Plan is delivered by a range of government departments, state agencies and other bodies, and includes over 270 specific actions to be delivered. Innovative Rural Communities In 2017, there were over 78,000 active enterprises employing less than 10 people 92% of the overall total of active enterprises in our Region. These enterprises employed over 86,000 people, around 24% of the total employed, which is greater than the State share of 19% in this category. The growth of small and medium enterprise (SME) as a result of activity by world leading companies based in the Region (for example pharmaceutical, medical devices, technology, business services, financial services, and engineering, agriculture and food sectors) represents a significant opportunity. The Region has many examples of innovation and enterprise and Clare County Council’s Rural Development Strategy is an exemplar. The development of partnership models across a network of settlement and communities is promoted to optimise the use of specialist roles and maximise further investment in infrastructure and services with the wider hinterland shared between towns and villages in our rural Region. The way in which people work is changing. With advances in technology, changing employment trends, the arrival of millennials into the workplace, shortages in talent and a greater focus on work-life balance, there is a significant rise in the number of people seeking flexible remote working. While e-working still encompasses employees working remotely from their office, it now extends to capture new and emerging employment trends, including digital nomads (people who are location-independent and use technology to perform their job) and e-lancers (independent consultants who operate predominantly online). The RSES supports coordinated initiatives to create a regional co-working smart e-hub network bringing talent together and building on the Regions value proposition as a location of choice to live and work. The Gaeltacht network of Digital Hubs is being implemented across the Region’s Gaeltacht areas. The RSES supports the development of a comprehensive strategy to better link and manage the work of ‘enterprise’ hubs in the AEC Region. This hub network would be a valuable asset, contributing to the Region’s offering to investors, facilitating, attracting and retaining high-value talent and providing resources and facilities to support vibrant local communities. Good Practice Example: South-West Examples of Rural Innovation The South-West has many good practice examples of centres of excellence, innovation and enterprise networks. Examples in Cork include Teagasc Moorepark Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre outside Fermoy, a world leader in agriculture research, and Ludgate Hub in Skibbereen, a hotspot for technology start-ups and multinationals. Other e-centre locations in Cork have a wide reach providing state of the art enterprise facilities and opportunities for remote working, including in Bandon, Bantry, Bere Island, Charleville, Dunmanway, Fermoy, Macroom, Goleen and Youghal. In Kerry, centres have won national awards under the Enterprise Ireland Regional Enterprise Development Fund. Examples of innovation centres include the Tom Crean Business Centre, the Service, Design and Innovation Hub Killorglin, Skellig Centre for Research and Innovation, Dingle Creativity and Innovation Hub, Sneem Digital Hub and Kenmare Innovation Centre. Examples of refurbishment projects for digital hubs and start up enterprise space includes projects in Valentia Cable Station in Knightstown and the Old Dingle Hospital.
- Southern Regional Assembly | RSES110 Good Practice Example: Clare Rural Development Strategy 2026. Our Life, Our Home This Strategy identifies as significant challenges, population decline in parts of the county, as well as loss of public services (health services including GPs, Post Offices, schools, Garda stations, transport services, enterprise development, welfare support services, etc.), and a protracted wait for physical and service infrastructure (e.g. schools, broadband, water, public transport). The Strategy also identifies that the flexibility of rural communities to respond to emerging needs is often constrained by ongoing commitments to maintaining costly community facilities and buildings that far exceed their current needs. It states that these dynamics will lead to terminal decline unless they are reversed. The Strategy has a 10-year, 4,000 jobs creation target, with a particular focus on social enterprise. In parallel, the Clare Economic Development Strategy will provide the economic conditions and supports for the growth of enterprise and employment across the whole county. This Strategy will focus on the further growth of the high performing Ennis-Shannon economic corridor to the benefit of all of Clare. The leadership of the different communities across Clare is supported by a special Rural and Community Support Unit in Clare County Council. Together, this coalition of interests will identify and support new opportunities for co-operative endeavour and individual achievement. RPO 46 Digital and Physical Infrastructure in Rural Areas It is an objective to expedite the completion of infrastructure servicing diverse settlements to support innovation, enterprise start-ups and competitiveness. This includes high quality broadband and mobile communication services to all rural locations, water and wastewater facilities for the growth of settlements, sustainable energy supply, enhanced transport connectivity including rural public transport services and greenway walking and pedestrian corridors between settlements. RPO 47 Rural Partnership Models It is an objective to promote partnership models (e.g. the Partnership Parishes project in Co. Clare) which support sharing services across a network of settlements and communities. Diversity in the Rural Economy While our rural economy and society is changing rapidly, in many instances it remains dependent on traditional sectors of agriculture, forestry, fishing, and construction. Employment in the agricultural sector can be low paying necessitating off-farm employment, often in construction. Non-dairy farmers are particularly vulnerable as their income is largely dependent on EU and state transfers. There is also a wide variation in farm income. Rural areas need diversification to retain their population and supplement income. A ‘one-size fits all approach’ will not suffice. We must take account of diversity and tailor initiatives accordingly. Our agriculture, forestry, fishing resource base offers many opportunities for diverse enterprise development, renewable energy production as well as tourism, leisure and recreation development. Specific products and services, fishing, mariculture, seafood harvesting, fresh and processed products, including artisanal foods, is established or developing as important enterprise opportunities. As a significant employer and driver of economic growth, the natural land assets that support the agriculture sector is supported by the RSES. The agrifood and forestry sectors are an integral part in Ireland’s economy and is our largest indigenous industry. Forestry is central for Ireland’s transition to a low carbon and sustainable future and can play an important role in increasing and diversifying farm income. By incorporating forestry into the farming mix, agricultural production can continue alongside timber production while delivering both economic and environmental benefits. Food Wise 2025: A 10-year Vision for the Irish Agri-Food Industry sets out a strategic plan with growth projections for 23,000 additional direct jobs. Other relevant policy supports and initiatives include: • Delivery of hi-speed broadband (National Broadband Plan); • Marine economy (Harnessing our Ocean Wealth and future Marine Spatial Plans); • Forestry (Growing for the Future and Business Area Unit Strategic Plans); • Energy (White Paper-Ireland’s Transition to a Low Carbon Energy Future 2015-30);
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