EDITORIAL: Rural Ireland needs more government support

placeholder image — Derelict houses in Wapping Lane.

A look into what efforts the government can make to help with the decline of services in rural Ireland.

Rural Ireland needs more government support.

Working for Tipperary Live, I often have the opportunity to drive around Tipperary and see the villages between all of the bigger towns in the county.

With news this week that mass services will be halted from one village temporarily for the summer months, it got me thinking about the rural decay of some towns.

With the introductions of large supermarkets, small local shops have suffered. With the car made more widely available, people can now travel to larger towns to shop there. It has left a void in some villages that cannot be permanently filled, it seems.

But I feel that it’s important to keep services and amenities local for people, so that more people may move to these places and for those that live there to have a sense of pride in their town.

It’s sad to see empty buildings that could brighten up a town, lay derelict for so long. While the Irish government provides various support for rural towns, including funding for town and village renewal, community development, and rural regeneration, it doesn't seem to be enough to revitalise every town.

Rural towns deserve to have the same sense of community as larger ones, and so it is important that community initiatives are funded for services in these towns to remain available. Whether it is building a new park, maintenance of a community hall or even renovating vacant buildings in these communities, it is so important for locals that they receive support. Often small towns and villages turn to fundraising to build a playground or other local service, which should not be the case.

Resources should be made available for people to revitalise their communities without the efforts of fundraising.

Revamped villages will increase visitors to the area also and ensure local businesses stay open.