Diane Nolan Galway City speaking to motion 136
Published: 1 March, 2008
Agriculture and rural have traditionally been seen one and the same however agriculture in Ireland has been in continuous decline and there are those who now argue that information technology is now the backbone of our society rather than farming. But we must be careful to not confuse society with economy. As a society we still identify strongly with ideas of the rural and agriculture, regardless of where we reside.
We hear much debate about the issues of one-off housing in the urban-rural fringe and the countryside as a commodity for the masses, but the farming community living and working in the spaces between these two arguments is being neglected and pushed to the margins in the current debate of rural Ireland. It has become unfashionable to equate rural with agriculture and primary economic activity.
The economic agenda of the current and previous governments, in its sidelining of agriculture and commodities production, has been shown by recent market shifts and downturns to be an unstable and short-sighted strategy. We should be encouraging growth and development, first and foremost, in our indigenous industries and sectors.
While the economic growth of recent times is to be welcomed it does not have to be at the expense and downgrading of primary industry.
Agriculture, fisheries and indigenous industry should have been nurtured in a growing economy but they have been ignored. Funding and direction for agriculture in Ireland has been eagerly relegated to EU payments, with successive governments washing their hands of actively participating in rural development, and leaving Irish agriculture to EU bureaucrats.
A rejuvenated primary sector will be central in the fight to create and maintain sustainable and vibrant communities in a rural setting.
For these reasons I welcome the focus of an Ard Chomairle motion on the farming and fisheries aspects of the rural and I urge delegates to vote in favour of motion 136.
|
