Despite success in raising living standards in Ireland since independence, and especially since joining the EU in the early seventies, Irish governments have failed to prevent the imbalance of development in Dublin at the expense of almost every region in the country. Emigration has remained a preferred solution to economic downturns, with the forcing of young people abroad by the cutting of social welfare payments for the under 24s. One in five Irish people now live abroad, the highest percentage in any OECD country, (there are 34 of them) Poverty and decline across what is termed “rural Ireland” remains endemic. Over large parts of the country, infrastructure continues to be less than it was in the 19th century under the British Empire. In the 1990s the train to Sligo was slower than it had been in the 1890s.
All cities draw migrants from their hinterlands, but when that becomes the only choice in an entire country then there is a problem. drawing the people to Dublin is then a form of exploitation, and does not in fact do Dublin any favours either as one third of the national population now resides in the environs of the capital., putting its infrastructure, resources and quality and standards of living under severe pressure. the current housing crisis is a good example of this extreme imbalance.
History of Over Centralisation
The colonial history of Ireland has left indelible marks on the country that we are still struggling to deal with. Ireland is perhaps the most centralised state in Western Europe. Few countries have weaker regional representation, power and government, nor are any, quite as democratically insignificant as in the Irish case.
The first point to make is that Dublin has only been the independent capital of Ireland for just over 90 years since 1922. Before that it acted as the centre of power for the British administration, effectively under the supervision of Westminster and the Crown. Prior to that, it was an outpost within the Pale of English culture, a foothold that had survived since the Norman invasion of 1169. Before that again it was of course a Viking trading centre and slave market tolerated by the Irish kings as long as it paid its dues.
For most of these centuries, the lands beyond the Pale fence were regarded as hostile and barbarous. Often a tax was paid, known as the Black Rent, to Irish chieftains in exchange for peace. For a thousand years, Dublin was an outpost in a foreign land. The psychology of this long history of division is evident to this day in the divide between the “city” and “rural Ireland”. Rural Ireland is the modern euphemism for the wild lands beyond the Pale, except now it is less a geographical reality, but a psychological one, existing in the minds of Irish people. It is little wonder Dublin has little tradition of acting in this role with full confidence of how to do it effectively, evenly and with benefit to the whole country.
But the colonial mindset did not go away. No reform happened after the Free State was established. In fact, the tendency towards centralised control established under Imperial conditions was exacerbated with the weakening of even the British created local democracy after the civil war because it was feared by the insecure Free State that anti-treaty councils would be uncontrollable, therefore the centrally appointed executives (county managers) were made more powerful than the elected council. A situation that continues to this day.
On the other side, the alienation of Irelands regions stems from the same history. Disconnection from what was, after all, an alien system imposed by the British through Dublin was the norm from the late 16th century onward. This means there is little sense of ownership and rights to self determination at a regional level. Instead, people are elected in the hope that when they go to Dublin they may wrest favours from the system. This has kept clientelism alive and well, with dynasties inheriting the role of spokesman for the areas by default.
Even after engagement with the EU, which requires strong regional structures to create balanced development, Ireland has continued to resist the devolution of meaningful power to the regions. Preferring to set up unelected quangos and boards that are centrally appointed. There are no directly elected provincial or regional authorities between central government and the local authorities in Ireland. The eight regional assemblies that do exist are so weak and uninfluential that most people have never heard of them. The maze of entities and overlapping bodies means no-one has a clear idea of how anything works, or how to get anything done.
Instead of services being delivered by local councils, a multitude of executive agencies has been created, like Irish water and Transport Infrastructure Ireland, which consist of unelected professionals only and are therefore out of localised regional control. Even cases of supposed “decentralisation”, where government departments have been moved to regional centres is not true decentralisation. For that to be the case, power would have to delegated to these centres as well, but that is not the case. It remains firmly entrenched in Dublin.
So, almost all regional activities of the state are organised centrally and delivered in a “top down” model imposed on communities across the country. Direct applications for project funding to Europe from Irelands regions are not allowed, instead, they are routed through Dublin first for approval or alteration. This is not the norm across Europe, and neither has it been successful. For example, in the Border, Midland and Western (BMW) region funds earmarked were under-spent by 59 per cent and under 20 per cent in some seven measures (just 4.6 per cent of spending forecast for regional innovation and 1.2 per cent for waste management had been spent up until 2002. Vast sums of EU money has had to be sent back as projects could not be found for it. An astonishing fact considering how underdeveloped much of Ireland still is.
Furthermore, plans are changed on an ad hoc basis depending on which government gets into power, the centralised decision making leaving regions interests vulnerable to sacrifice depending on the political climate.
Underlying this is an inherited cultural belief that regional Ireland is fundamentally economically unviable, and therefore dependent on handouts from central government. It is regarded as a waste of resources to invest in regional areas infrastructure as national concerns are prioritised over regional ones. The colonial system was an efficient machine designed to efficiently remove resources to centres of British power and exert a centralised control from a base convenient to Britain, and the Irish state has not only continued that setup, it has made it worse.
This belief in the poor status of much of regional Ireland is again an inherited belief to do with the history outlined above. But is it really the case that Ireland is poor by default? Or is it merely our inherited beliefs and their consequences that make it so?
The Solution is Simple: Quid pro quo (Something for Something)
The ironic thing is that Ireland was once one of the most decentralised countries in Europe. Traditionally, local autonomy was extremely strong, and this was the norm for thousands of years, until the 17th century. Hence, traditions of local governance lie just below the surface in the Irish psyche. This is the reason for Irelands dispersed settlement pattern and adherence to place amongst its population. The destruction of this system has never been addressed.
Now, and increasingly in the future, Irelands regions will be looked to to provide resources for the east, both of this country and further afield in Europe.
The second irony of all this is that Irelands regions have of course got vast natural and cultural resources whether it be water, clean energy and forests, whether as carbon sinks or for timber. In terms of energy based on waves and wind, the west has an enormous untapped potential in non polluting energy production. The sea area off the west coast is five times the size of the entire island. Air quality and water quality is better, something increasingly valuable in todays world, with water expected to surpass the value of oil in the not too distant future. Not to mention gas and oil reserves off the coast that are increasingly being found. Archeological and cultural tourism are increasingly popular in the regions, and these have a rich heritage in these areas. However the current lack of regional autonomy means this wealth will either be taken without benefitting the regions from which it is sourced, or wealth generated in the regions are sent to Dublin to be spent on the priorities of central government only.
In order to create a fairer situation, the solution must be to create the missing tier of regional government between local councils and central government. This must be directly elected so that the concerns of those regions are implemented by these authorities as priorities. A democratic structure with real local power has the ability to receive direct taxation from activities in its area, and this means it can effectively redress the balance that has been lost over the past four centuries.
As an example, Dublin wishes to tap the Shannon to ensure its water supply into the future. Currently that will be of no benefit to the regions along the river whatsoever. However, a democratic regional authority can be paid a percentage of the price of the water in taxation, effectively allowing the transfer of money from the wealthier centres of population to those areas that provide the resources, but are underdeveloped.
The same authority can then spend the money on regional projects considered important by the prople in those areas. For example, extending the Corrib gas pipeline to the northwest, or building the western rail corridor, both projects considered “unviable” by central government at the present time. If America had thought the same way in the 19th century, nothing would have been built beyond New York. Note the railway came first, then the development. The same model of transfer of wealth in both directions applies to all resource extraction activities, and to a percentage of tax gathered in those regions that can go directly to their respective regional authorities. Hence, only the real devolution of power to Irelands regions can bring balanced development, anything else is a sham to give the impression of caring for the regions, while retaining a grip on centralised power at any cost.
The east has the people and the money, the regions have the resources, let us trade indeed, but let us demand fair trade, as it is in the interests, not only of Irelands regions, but also the increasingly overcrowded east that a model for balanced development that actually works is adopted, and hopefully sooner rather than later.
1 million still live in poverty
References
Hayward, Katy A marriage of convenience: the EU and regionalisation in Ireland
Kearns Gerry, Historical Geographies of Ireland: Colonial Contexts and Postcolonial Legacies
Mac Siomoin, Tomas, The Broken Harp
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All is Motion 