Understanding Contemporary Ireland - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0745325955 ISBN 13: 9780745325958

Publisher: Pluto Press, 2006

Synopsis

This is an account of Ireland in the twenty first century and the remarkable economic and social transformations that have occurred since the late 1980s.

The 'Celtic Tiger' phenomenon made Ireland the focus of much attention in recent years. Other countries have openly declared that they want to follow the Irish economic and social model. Yet there is no book that gives a comprehensive, spatially informed analysis of the Irish experience.

This book fills that gap. Divided into four parts - planning and development, the economy, the political landscape, and population and social issues - the book explains a particular aspect of Ireland and Irish life. The authors reveal how the transformations that have occurred are uneven and unequal in their effects across the country and highlight the challenges now facing Irish society and policy-makers.

About this title

About the Authors

Brendan Bartley is the project leader for International Centre for Local and Regional Development at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. He is the editor of Understanding Contemporary Ireland (Pluto, 2006).

Rob Kitchin is Director of the National Institute for Regional and Spatial analysis at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. He is the co-editor of Understanding Contemporary Ireland (Pluto, 2006).

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Understanding Contemporary Ireland

By Brendan Bartley, Rob Kitchin

Pluto Press

Copyright © 2007 Brendan Bartley & Rob Kitchin
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-7453-2595-8

Contents

1. Ireland in the Twenty-first Century Rob Kitchin and Brendan Bartley, 1, 
PART I: PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT, 
Introduction, 27, 
2. Planning in Ireland Brendan Bartley, 31, 
3. Regional Development James A. Walsh, 44, 
4. Urban Systems Des McCafferty, 57, 
5. Urban Property Development Andrew MacLaran and Sinead Kelly, 71, 
6. Rural Development John McDonagh, 88, 
7. Transport James E. Killen, 100, 
8. Strategic Spatial Planning in Northern Ireland Michael R. Murray and Brendan Murtagh, 112, 
PART II: ECONOMY, 
Introduction, 125, 
9. The Manufacturing Sector Chris Van Egeraat and Proinnsias Breathnach, 128, 
10. The Services Sector Proinnsias Breathnach, 146, 
11. Agriculture in Transition James A. Walsh, 158, 
12. Tourism and Heritage Catherine Kelly, 170, 
PART III: POLITICAL LANDSCAPE, 
Introduction, 181, 
13. Elections and Voting Adrian Kavanagh, 185, 
14. Transformations in Governance Joe Larragy and Brendan Bartley, 197, 
15. Green Ireland? The Governance of Waste G. Honor Fagan and Michael J. Murray, 208, 
16. The Meaning of Northern Ireland Brian Graham, 221, 
PART IV: POPULATION AND SOCIAL ISSUES, 
Introduction, 233, 
17. Immigration: Labour Migrants, Asylum Seekers and Refugees Piaras Mac Einri, 236, 
18. Transformations in Housing Mary P Corcoran, Karen Keaveney and Patrick J. Duffy, 249, 
19. Deprivation and its Spatial Articulation Trutz Haase, 264, 
20. Health and Disease Frank Houghton and Dennis Pringle, 279, 
21. 'For the Way We Live Today': Consumption, Lifestyle and Place Denis Linehan, 289, 
CONCLUSION, 
22. Ireland Now and in the Future Rob Kitchin and Brendan Bartley, 301, 
Notes, 309, 
References, 313, 
About the contributors, 335, 
Index, 337, 

CHAPTER 1

Ireland in the Twenty-first Century

Rob Kitchin and Brendan Bartley

By any standards, the Republic of Ireland (henceforth Ireland) is a country that has undergone enormous transformations since the start of the 1990s. Economically, socially, culturally, politically, environmentally, there have been profound changes to the Irish landscape and everyday life. Concurrently, Ireland's position on the world stage has been elevated. Ireland is no longer a poor nation on the periphery of Europe characterised by a weak economy and high emigration. Ireland is a country with a booming economy that is the envy of many nations. Economic growth over the last decade has been double or more that of its European neighbours, and wealth levels in terms of average income are amongst the highest of any developed nation. A sustained growth in population, fuelled by return migration, immigrants seeking work, and natural increase, has meant that in 2004 the population exceeded 4 million for the first time since 1871 (CSO 2004a). Irish culture has a high cache globally – Irish music, literature, fashion, art, dance, and pubs have become global phenomena (think U2, Enya, Seamus Heaney, John Connolly, John Rocha, Waterford Crystal, Riverdance, and so on). Huge strides forward have been made in addressing the so-called 'Irish problem' – 'the Troubles' of Northern Ireland, first with a cease-fire in 1994, followed by the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 and the peace process in general. As a result of these changes, being Irish has gained cultural capital (in Bourdieu's, 1984, terms), as evidenced by the resurgence in diasporic identity and the popularity of St Patrick's Day events in numerous countries (some 2 million people were reported to have either taken part in, or watched, the New York parade in 2006; O'Driscoll, 2006).

It is little wonder then that Ireland's success story has become the focus of attention for economic analysts and social commentators from around the world. Ireland demonstrates that radical transformation on a number of fronts is possible in a relatively short space of time. Negative features such as a stagnant economy, a relatively moribund social order, and political conflict have been tackled and transformed into virtuous trends in ways that were beyond comprehension in the 1980s. Ireland has thus become a place that other countries want to emulate, particularly those of Eastern Europe, which have experienced similar situations in their past and whose social, economic and political situation at present is similar to pre-Celtic Tiger Ireland. It also holds lessons for other developed nations (for example, it is possible to ask what the economically depressed areas of the north-eastern United States can learn from the Irish strategy and experience). These countries even send their students, policy makers and government officials to Ireland to identify lessons that might help them to re-energise their economies and tackle issues of social development. As strange as it may sound to many Irish people who have witnessed the recent changes and are familiar with on-going problems in Irish society, other countries proclaim that they 'want to be the next Ireland' (for example, Hungary).

This book examines Ireland in the twenty-first century. It sets out to document the various ways that Ireland has changed over the past 15 years or so (while still placing that within the context of longer-term, historical development), the key drivers shaping change, and how government, policy makers and workers on the ground have managed the transformations occurring through specific policies and interventions. In particular, it provides a spatial analysis that recognises that Ireland is not a homogenous country, and that there are significant variations in the patterns and processes of phenomena and the ways in which policy interventions are scaled. For example, the situation with regard to housing, transport, tourism, and industry, to take a selection of issues, is markedly different in urban and rural areas, and varies dramatically between different parts of the country (contrast for example the differences between the Atlantic seaboard and the Dublin Metropolitan Region). Interventions take place on different scales – local, county, regional, national – driven by policy itself formulated and implemented on varying scales including the international (European Union, United Nations, etc.). In short, the contributors highlight the various ways in which geography matters for what is occurring in Ireland, but also for understanding the ongoing transformations of the country. Undertaking this kind of analysis is important because it is often overlooked by social scientists who instead focus on undertaking more traditional, aspatial, social and economic investigations. In taking space seriously, the contributors provide a platform for us to think about Ireland differently, in a fundamental, applied, and policy-oriented sense. In doing so, they provide fresh insight into Ireland in the twenty-first century.

In this introductory chapter, we provide a broad overview and explanation of some of the changes that have taken place, and examine their consequences. In the first section we provide a brief picture of Ireland in the 1980s as a benchmark for understanding and evaluating the transformation of Ireland in the 1990s and early 2000s. In the following section we outline six key trends and phenomena that underpin the changes that have occurred, and detail what some of their key effects have been. In the penultimate section we explore some problems by-passed or even exacerbated by these trends, before drawing some conclusions.

IRELAND IN THE 1980s

Like the rest of the developed world, Ireland was seriously affected by the global recession of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The economic growth of the early to mid-1970s ground to a halt in the aftermath of the 1970s world oil crisis and could not be redeemed by government efforts to prime renewed development through tax reductions and an increase in public spending. In fact, increased public spending became a liability so that by the early 1980s the country was on the brink of bankruptcy and acknowledged to be spending beyond its means. This led to further emergency measures including a series of cutbacks in services together with tax increases to cover public finance deficits. Ferriter (2004) reports that at one point the foreign debt was equivalent to &8364;7,620 for every income tax payer and that income tax payments were barely covering the interest due. The situation was exacerbated by interest rate increases. Between 1980 and 1983 interest rates were above 15 per cent, and at times over 20 per cent, before falling to 5 per cent by 1985, and the Irish pound struggled against other currencies (Kelly, 2003). At the same time, between 1979 and 1985 unemployment rose from 7.8 per cent to 18.2 per cent, with 26 per cent of people 'living below a poverty threshold set at 40 per cent of average income in the EU', the EU average being 16 per cent of people (Ferriter, 2004: 670-1). By 1987, Irish GDP was 63 per cent of the EU average making it the second poorest country in the EU behind Portugal (Breathnach, 1998).

As a result of economic instability and the attendant social hardships, the 1980s was a time of political instability and tension and conflict between state, employers and unions. There were three general elections between June 1981 and November 1982 with successive governments faltering under their spending ambitions and proposed tax reforms, and the fact that their policies were often underpinned by short-term political visions aimed at appeasing the electorate rather than tackling spiralling debt and rising inflation. The minor parties and independent candidates gained the balance of power hampering the ability of any single party to rule by fiat; backbenchers constantly threatened to revolt, and the opposition parties opposed almost anything the ruling parties tried to achieve. As a result, policies were often compromised by trying to pull in different directions simultaneously, making it difficult to achieve a coherent overall policy with associated long-term strategy or appropriate remedial interventions.

In addition, social conservatism dominated civic life and the social agenda, with the result that Ireland remained relatively conservative in its social attitudes in comparison to its European neighbours. The bans on contraception, divorce, abortion and homosexuality, all made or reconfirmed as illegal in the 1937 constitution, remained in place at the start of the 1980s. Contraception became legal to buy for over 18s in 1985. A divorce referendum was lost in 1986 (though won in 1995), and abortion referenda were lost in 1983 and 1992. The legal status of homosexuality was challenged in the High and Supreme Courts at the start of the 1980s, but rejected in both cases, although it was eventually over-ruled by the European Court of Human Rights in 1988 and decriminalised in 1993 (Hug, 1999). The Catholic Church continued to play a pivotal role in welfare and education, providing many social services through its various charities and associations, and running the majority of schools.

Both the dire economic situation and the stifling social conditions led to widespread emigration during the 1980s. Crucially this emigration included large numbers of young, well-educated people seeking a better life overseas. For example, Ferriter (2004) reports that 36 per cent of students earning a degree in 1988 emigrated, with NESC (1991) documenting that some 70 per cent of all emigrants were under the age of 25. Over the period 1981-85, the net out-migration was on average 15,000 people each year, rising to 35,000 per year over the period 1986-89. Net out-migration was over 40,000 people in both 1988 and 1989 (with 61,000 and 71,000 respectively leaving, whilst 19,000 and 27,000 returned), totalling some 2 per cent of overall population.

At the same time, the political conflict in Northern Ireland continued to cast a shadow over Ireland and its relations with its main economic market, the UK. The Troubles continued throughout the 1980s claiming the lives of 890 people between 1980 and 1989 (McKittrick et al., 1999). The intransigence of all sides, plus the presence and strength of paramilitary groups, countered by the RUC and British Army, made the prospect of peace seem unlikely in the short term.

The combination of a struggling economy, stifling social order, widespread emigration, and a political conflict on its doorstep that was seemingly fought in its name (but with very mixed support in Ireland), provided few clues as to the transformation that was to occur in the following decade. Ireland was very much seen as a small, poor, peripheral country of low international importance, and relatively poor future prospects beyond small-to-medium-size indigenous companies, foreign direct investment in low-skill manufacturing, and EU subsidies. Given the volatile and disastrous situation of the previous few years, the prospects for slow, or even steady and stable growth did not look promising, let alone the success story of the Celtic Tiger era. Indeed, in 1988 The Economist concluded that Ireland looked to be heading for catastrophe due to its spending on public services that the country was too poor to maintain (The Economist, 2004).

THE GREAT TRANSFORMATION

From the early 1990s through to the time of writing, Ireland has been transformed from the poor, peripheral nation of the 1980s to a largely prosperous, confident, multicultural, globally embedded nation. In this section we chart six broad sets of factors – social partnership and the planning regime, foreign direct investment, the European Union, the peace process, secularisation and social change, and population change and increased mobility – that have led to, but also at the same time are outcomes of, the transformation of economy and society.

Social Partnership and the Planning Regime

Although sometimes overlooked in the analysis of the Celtic Tiger in favour of economic and educational explanations, the start of the social partnership movement and the reorientation of the planning system in the mid-to-late 1980s provided a platform that was conducive to economic growth and stability. As Larragy and Bartley note in Chapter 14, the social partnership movement arose out of the political and economic turmoil of the early-to-mid 1980s. In an effort to curb industrial unrest and garner political support for harsh spending cuts, the government, through the Programme for National Recovery (PNR), offered social partners (employer, trade union and farmer organisations) a set plan of pay growth over the coming years, with the promise of wage increases if conditions improved. By making the social partners part of the political process, rather than being in opposition to it, negotiated settlement was achieved, thus providing labour stability and removing the threat of strikes. The social partnership process has proved highly successful, operating ever since, widening to include community and voluntary partners, and providing long-term, stable employer-employee relations. Importantly, in the early 1990s the social partnership model was broadened to include local development initiatives through the creation of local and area-based partnership companies designed to drive local economic change. They included rural programmes such as LEADER started in 1991 and County/City Enterprise Boards (CEBs) set up in 1993. Designed to be flexible, proactive, market-responsive and user-oriented, local development partnerships were able to cut through red-tape to drive change. In effect, they provided a new third way – a middle route between the perceived inertia of the public sector and the dangerous strivings of the market. They have proven to be important sources of indigenous economic development.

At approximately the same time, the approach to planning started to be transformed with a move in 1986 to designate certain zones for regeneration using tax emption and public-private partnerships as a mechanism to encourage and drive development. In a change of focus from wide-scale, regional-level, spatial planning policies, the new approach targeted very select, flagship sites that would seek to attract specific industries, notably those of the service sector. As a result, planning became more pragmatic, flexible and results-oriented, focusing on areas that were perceived to have the highest potential for success. This change in approach provided the planning conditions conducive to encouraging inward investment, gentrification, and speculative property development. For example, the first urban development corporation, the Custom House Docks Development Authority (CHDDA) was a public-private partnership charged with regenerating a central Dublin site (see Chapter 2). The development provided the location for the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) that subsequently attracted significant numbers of banking and financial companies to Ireland. The Industrial Development Agency (IDA) was similarly charged with encouraging inward investment by skilled, manufacturing companies to selected, ready-made and serviced sites, accompanied by grants and other incentives. Planning thus became more responsive to creating the environmental and spatial conditions necessary to attract inward investment.

(Continues...)

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Edition details

• Publisher: Pluto Press
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0745325955
• ISBN 13: 9780745325958
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 336
• Editor: Bartley Brendan, Kitchin Rob