A spatial analysis of agriculture in the Republic of Ireland, 1991 to 2000

End of year projectBy linking farm census and administrative data from the CSO and DAF to a geographic information system and analysing the mapping output, this project shows the continued broad division of farming in the state into marginal farming areas in the north and west and more commercial farming areas in the south and east. While this division was compounded by the 1992 CAP reforms, and commercial farming became more spatially concentrated over the 1990s, the influence of the development in the non-farm economy, particularly in peri-urban rural areas across the state, provided local drivers of change that encouraged enterprise substitution to beef production, the farming system most readily combined by farm holders with another job. A full report on the mapping output will be produced in a forthcoming publication (see publications list)

Irish Rural Structure and Gaeltacht Areas

This is the report on a background study for the National Spatial Strategy (NSS) regarding the Irish Rural Structure. The main objective of the study was to "develop, using demographic, economic and geographical data, a typology of rural areas in Ireland and their main characteristics. The typology should be developed at a geographical scale that enables practical regional and subregional comparisons to be made". The study also examined: trends within these areas and the outlook for them; the relationship between urban and rural areas; and the role of infrastructure in rural area performance. This Summary presents selected principal findings only. More detailed results are contained in the Main Report. The overall study approach has been one of a high level of quantification, drawing mainly on the Census of Population 1996. This focus reflects a desire to contribute analytically to much discussed but seldom systematically assessed issues of rural development and rural performance in Ireland. “Rural” is defined as District Electoral Divisions (DEDs) with no population centre above 1,500 people, with a population density below 150 per sq. km, and which are not part of an urban district or borough, ie it broadly refers to open countryside and rural villages

Immigration to the Republic of Ireland, 1946-71

For several years a major goal of national planning in Ireland has been to reduce or curb emigration. High levels of emigration in the past were a clear indication of the failure of the national economy to provide a sufficient number of jobs for the workforce. Since the overriding concern has been with emigration little attention has been directed towards immigration into Ireland. Until recently little was known about the volume of immigration or the spatial distribution or the demographic and socio-economic attributes of the immigrants. However, since the publication in 1978 of Volume XI of the 1971 census of population some detailed analyses of immigration can now be made. In part I of that volume the residents of each county are classified by their place of residence twelve months previously, while in part II they are classified by their place of birth. This paper, which is based on some of the contents of that volume, attempts to highlight the main trends in immigration. The first part of the paper examines the volume, origins and destinations of immigrants up to 1971. The second part investigates in greater detail the principal demographic, educational and occupational attributes of the immigrants over the twelve months prior to April 1971

The Irish Urban System and its Dynamics

The objective of the study of the Irish Urban System and its Dynamics is to define and describe the system of cities and towns, including the economic and social functions of urban settlements of different sizes and to define the urban fields of cities and towns of population 5000+. For purposes of the study, urban centres are regarded as those with a population of 1500 or greater in 1996. The set of urban centres is illustrated on Fig. 1.1. Brady Shipman Martin undertook the study in association with NUI Maynooth and Fitzpatrick Associates. It involved the collation and analysis of a range of data on the size, functions and fields of urban centres, together with a review of previous studies of the urban syste

Irish Rural Structure and Gaeltacht Areas

This is the report on a background study for the National Spatial Strategy (NSS) regarding the Irish Rural Structure. The main objective of the study was to "develop, using demographic, economic and geographical data, a typology of rural areas in Ireland and their main characteristics. The typology should be developed at a geographical scale that enables practical regional and subregional comparisons to be made". The study also examined: trends within these areas and the outlook for them; the relationship between urban and rural areas; and the role of infrastructure in rural area performance. This Summary presents selected principal findings only. More detailed results are contained in the Main Report. The overall study approach has been one of a high level of quantification, drawing mainly on the Census of Population 1996. This focus reflects a desire to contribute analytically to much discussed but seldom systematically assessed issues of rural development and rural performance in Ireland. “Rural” is defined as District Electoral Divisions (DEDs) with no population centre above 1,500 people, with a population density below 150 per sq. km, and which are not part of an urban district or borough, ie it broadly refers to open countryside and rural villages

Regional Aspects of Agricultural Production in Ireland 1970-1980

This note describes the regional pattern of agricultural production in 1980 and the changes which occurred between 1970 and 1980. It is based on a more detailed review and mapping of the results from the 1970 and 1980 census enumerations for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (Horner, Walsh and Williams, 1984). Here the comments are restricted mostly to patterns referring to the level of the five ACOT (Agricultural Training Authority) regions in the Republic and to Northern Ireland (Tables 1 and 2)

Spatial Planning for Territorial Cohesion: Linking the Urban and Rural Domains

The European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP) (1999) and the Third Report on Economic and Social Cohesion A New Partnership for Cohesion (2004) have firmly established the central role of spatial planning and spatial development strategies in achieving the fundamental objectives of economic and social cohesion, conservation of natural resources and cultural heritage, and more balanced competitiveness of the EU territory. The concept of territorial cohesion features prominently in the draft Constitution and in the Cohesion report where it is recognised as a concept that goes beyond the notion of economic and social cohesion. In policy terms the objective of territorial cohesion is defined as helping to achieve a more balanced development by reducing existing disparities, preventing territorial imbalances and by promoting greater coherence between both sectoral policies that have spatial impacts and regional policy. Territorial cohesion also seeks to improve territorial integration and to encourage cooperation between regions. Promoting higher levels of interaction and cooperation between rural and urban areas is a major challenge for policies and strategies that seek to promote higher levels of territorial cohesion. This paper commences with an overview of the different types of interactions between urban and rural areas that have been identified in research on European spatial planning. It will be followed by a summary urban-rural typology map of the recently enlarged EU which will be complemented by some additional typologies that are relevant to future debates on territorial cohesion in the EU. The second part of the paper considers the changes that have occurred in rural-urban relations in Ireland since the early 1990s against a background of exceptionally high rates of economic growth and an economic context that is recognised as the most open in the world. This will be followed by an outline of the processes involved in preparing the National Spatial Strategy and an assessment of the key concepts that underpin the approach to promoting balanced regional development which explicitly includes an objective of reducing rural-urban disparities. Some general conclusions are drawn at the end