Senator Ronan Mullen has welcomed the publication today of The Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas (CEDRA) report which calls for more “proactive” and integrated approaches to rural economic development by the State and EU authorities.
The report notes that rural areas have been particularly affected by the economic downturn and this has been caused in large part because of the decline in the construction sector.
Senator Mullen noted that the report contained 32 detailed recommendations including piloting a number of rural economic development zones, with a targeted stimulus programme for rural towns. The report also calls for State agencies particularly, the IDA and Enterprise Ireland to work more fully at regional level to attract “small scale/niche” foreign direct investment to rural areas.
He added that there has been several reports in the past, large aspects of which have been ignored and this is the reason for the substantial gap between the income levels between the various regions, he said.
“These recommendations must now be examined and where possible implemented without delay.” Senator Mullen concluded.
