A development plan prepared for the north Tipperary town of Roscrea highlights its need for an advance factory for a high-tech industry, a decentralised branch of the Civil Service and investment in its rail infrastructure to reverse its population decline.
Roscrea is a designated heritage town, developed from a 6th century monastic site, and is famous for its round tower, its Norman castle and its market town architecture. It has a population of 5,190.
But with an unemployment level of about 15 per cent compared to a national average of 4.4 per cent, a declining population and high numbers of elderly people, it is similar to many rural towns which have been bypassed by the Celtic Tiger.
Last year, the only non-indigenous company, the US-owned Offray ribbon-making plant, closed with the loss of 140 jobs. The report is critical of the North Tippeary Enterprise Initiative, set up in the wake of the closure by the Tanasite, Ms Harney, saying "the impetus of the initiative was allowed to fade".
Only four companies now employ more than 100 people and, between them, they employ 60 per cent of the workforce. The largest employer is the Antigen pharmaceutical factory with 380 employees, followed by the Glanbia bacon processing plant, which employs 300. Over the last 10 years, the population has declined by 5 per cent compared with a national increase of 2 per cent. Its population of over 65s has increased by 29 per cent, compared to an 11 per cent decrease nationally.
The local development consultant who compiled the research, Ms Sheelagh Daly, says that in the 1970s the town had nearly full employment in "fairly low skilled jobs in the meat and manufacturing industries".
"The subsequent rationalisation of the meat industry had a crippling effect on employment in the town, resulting in a high number of unemployed people with very low educational attainment and low skills."
Almost half the population is in the lower socio-economic brackets, "which has significant implications for spending power and the local economy. Just one-third of adults in Roscrea are in the professional or white-collar class, compared to 46 per cent of adults in the nearby town of Nenagh, the administrative capital of Tipperary North Riding. "The research highlights the relationship between low levels of educational attainment and unemployment," her report, Economic Development Plan for Roscrea Town, states.
Of the people employed in the town, almost 40 per cent had no formal education, or had primary school education only, she says.
Its location is also underlined. The town is on the edge of Co Tipperary and Munster, and the Border/midlands/west region, and is administered from Nenagh by the county council, from Limerick by Shannon Development and from Dublin by the Government.
On the other hand, "its location and equidistant from most major towns and cities" would make it ideal as a location for the Civil Service, a major distribution centre or a conference centre. The placement of whitecollar jobs there would also help redress its social imbalance.
The town currently has two daily railway services to and from Limerick and Dublin. By rail, it is and hour and 40 minutes travelling time from the capital and 1 1/2 hours from Limerick. "If the rail infrastructure were improved, Roscrea, in conjunction with Nenagh, would be a most attractive location for people working in large urban areas, particularly Limerick and Dublin, to reside in and commute from," Ms Daly states.
But she warns that the line has declined in use as a freight carrier. "Unless local efforts are mobilised, it is likely that the line could close," she says.
Ms Daly said the purpose of the report was to outline recommendations for economic development. The project, sponsored by the Tipperary Leader group, was carried out for the Roscrea Community Development Council. She says "a concerted and integrated effort" must be made to put through these measures and tackle educational disadvantage, and recommends that a partnership of local interest groups and statutory bodies form an implementation group. "The implementation body will need to consider applying to Tipperary Leader, FAS or another State agency for funding to employ a development officer to undertake the implementation of the agreed actions."