The age profile of farmers in the Western Region is changing. Farmers are getting older and by 2010 for each farmer under 35 there were more than 10 farmers over 55 years of age. This changing age profile has implications for the type and amount of output from farms in the West. The most recent […]
The WDC has just published a new analysis of the Western Region’s Labour Market. This is based on a special run of data from the CSO’s QNHS for the period 2004-2014 for the seven-county Western Region. Understanding the region’s labour market is important for effective job creation, enterprise and skills policy. In 2014 the Western […]
Discussion of regional performance and the spread of growth are back on the agenda with the preparation of the Regional Action Plan for Jobs and the new National Planning Framework. The recent CSO publication of the 2012 data on County Incomes and Regional GDP[1] provides some insight into regional performance. On county incomes the CSO […]
RTE screened a documentary, The Battle for Rural Ireland, on 9th March 2015, to which Deirdre Frost contributed. Presented by Richard Curran, the programme highlights the challenges faced by rural communities and towns, both in the context of the recent recession and the outlook for further rural depopulation. Much of the projected population growth is […]
Agriculture in the Western Region of Ireland is characterised by smaller farm size, poorer land quality and a higher dependence on off farm income than in many other parts of Ireland. Nonetheless agriculture remains a significant employer and makes an important contribution to the regional economy. This is the first in an occasional series of […]
Along with more positive signs of economic growth generally, statistics on the tourism sector indicate growth in overseas visitor numbers and revenues in the last few years. The Department of Transport note that overall visits to Ireland in 2013 rose by 7.2% and spending by visitors to Ireland also increased in 2013, with total tourism […]
Yesterday’s announcement of IDA Ireland’s new 5-year strategy put considerable focus on the regional balance of future FDI investments. The strategy includes a target to increase the number of investments in every region, outside of Dublin, by 30-40% over the lifetime years of the strategy. With Dublin maintaining a similar level to currently. For example […]
Direct international air access is essential to the economy of the Western Region. For enterprises, quality transport links between producers, consumers and suppliers are needed to trade efficiently. Without good international connections, companies in the Region are at a competitive disadvantage compared to others, both within and outside Ireland. Additionally, the ability of the Region […]
‘The Atlas of the Island of Ireland’ was launched last week during the annual CCBS/ICLRD conference in Enniskillen. In 2011 there was a Census in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and this publication combines the data to present maps at a small area (SA) level for a wide range of socio-economic variables […]
The WDC published its report on ‘Trends in Agency Assisted Employment in the Western Region’ last week. This included an analysis of data for each of the seven western counties. The main findings for the western counties are: Galway: In 2013, there were 23,650 people working in agency assisted jobs. Galway has the third highest […]
