Irish Rural Link

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Rural Protocol

Irish Rural Link is proposing that Rural Protocol should be first consulted before the closure of any services in rural Ireland. Such a protocol might save a great deal of negative energy and anxiety expended by rural communities in order to defend, what seems to be an ongoing attempt to disenfranchise rural areas. So, before outlining it in more detail, let me put the need for such a protocol in context.

In rural Ireland, services have a habit of closing. Among the more prominent are the Post Office branches, Bank branches, national schools, pubs, shops and not to mention the occasional downgrade of hospitals from time to time. Yet all national and European union policy points to the urgency to renew rural communities so that they can become sustainable in economic and social terms. Currently there is much anticipation of the implementation of the CEDRA report launched by An Taoiseach in April 2014 and the implementation of the European Union Rural Development package, with particular interest in the new LEADER programme.
[Read more…] about Rural Protocol

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Irish Rural Link Submission to Environmental Protection Agency

"Irish Rural Link welcomes the opportunity to make this submission on a new National Inspection Plan for Domestic Waste Water Treatment Systems 2015-2017 and recognises the committed work of the Environmental Protection Agency and local authorities. The opportunity to contribute is widely welcomed as septic tank inspections are an area of concern for rural residents especially."

Download Irish Rural Link Submission to Environmental Protection Agency here.

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West Offaly takes a stand against Ulster Bank.

December 2014 marked a change in Irish society, the small community of Ferbane in west Offaly decided to rally together to stop the closure of their Ulster Bank branch. Over a thousand people from the locality turned out on the streets to show their commitment to Ulster Bank with a further show of solidarity scheduled for Friday 23th January in Athlone. (See www.Ferbane.ie for more details)

Ulster Bank have previously stated it would not close a branch in a town where it is the only Bank. Ulster Bank must honour this statement; the impact of such closures has a devastating effect on rural communities such as Ferbane. The residents of Ferbane and the surrounding areas have built a 94 year relationship with Ulster Bank that must be retained. [Read more…] about West Offaly takes a stand against Ulster Bank.

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New National Framework for Suicide Prevention

Irish Rural Link welcomes the opportunity to make this submission on a new National Strategic Framework for Suicide Prevention and recognises the committed work of the National Office of Suicide Prevention towards reducing the high suicide rate in Ireland. The opportunity to contribute is widely welcomed as the last strategy was published nearly a decade ago and it is fair to say that Ireland has experienced significant economic and social change since 2005. Suicide and mental health issues have emerged as a real problem in world society not just Ireland. Suicide is now among the top leading causes of deaths globally for all age groups. Unofficially in Ireland on average there are now 10 deaths by suicide a week or 526 in 2013 while officially the CSO stated there were 554 deaths by suicide in 2011. In the period from 1st of January to 31st of December 2012, the registry recorded 12,010 deliberate self presentations to hospital[1]. The reason behind listing these statistics is to emphasise the need for action to combat the high level of deaths by suicide in Ireland. Irish Rural Link Submission to National Office for Suicide Prevention (pdf)

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Carnegie Trust Manifesto for Rural Communities

Carnegie UK Trust has long championed the work of rural communities across the and organisations across the UK and Ireland. Their new publication A Manifesto for Rural Communities sets out some very positive opportunities for rural communities (and indeed communities everywhere) to survive and thrive during what are proving to be turbulent times.
This publication draws upon a rich source of evidence from real places and explores some of the most pressing challenges facing rural communities.

Click here to download the Manifesto for Rural Communities or

Click here to download the accompanying Press Release