Tag Archives: economic imbalance

IN light of the Pobal Deprivation Index findings, Sixmilebridge parish priest, sociologist and rural Ireland campaigner Fr Harry Bohan has highlighted the economic imbalance in Clare, with peripheral regions left out of the development and job creation loop. The index, which was based on the 2016 Census, found that parts of Ennis, Kilrush, Kilkee and Ennistymon were areas of particular deprivation, while areas considered ‘disadvantaged’ included Sixmilebridge and Shannon. Lack of employment is an issue in all of these areas, with Kilrush Independent councillor Ian Lynch claiming that Clare Minister of State Pat Breen has failed to bring any jobs to West Clare, in his role as minister for jobs. “Ennis is to Clare what Dublin is to Ireland. I talked to a man from West Clare last week and he told me that, between three parishes in West Clare, there will be 12 children combined in infant class. The populations of West, East and North Clare have been stripped. …

THE chief executive of Clare County Council has said that the Government’s National Planning Framework (NPF) will “undermine” potential investment options in Clare and the Mid-West. Pat Dowling, who is also the chair of the Mid-West Chief Executive’s Group, said the region’s three local authorities will soon make a joint submission to Government stressing the need for the NPF to correct economic imbalances across the island. Among the targets outlined by the group, which includes representatives of Clare County Council, LIT, UL, IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Shannon Group and private enterprise, is the expansion of the Clare campus of UL, the development of a conference centre within the county, securing Shannon Airport as the designated airport for the Wild Atlantic Way and promoting indigenous industry in rural areas. Speaking on behalf of members, Mr Dowling expressed concern that the draft NPF “does little to redress the existing economic imbalance across the country and, in its current form, will undermine future …