Challenges and Opportunities for Rural Ireland and the Agricultural Sector

Abstract

There is a prevailing narrative around the decline of rural areas in Ireland. This is not unique to the Irish context with international studies also looking at concerns around rural vitality. This narrative is associated predominately with a decline in the agricultural sector, urbanisation and the decline of opportunities in rural areas. This paper aims to quantitatively establish how rural areas have changed and qualitatively identify opportunities based on a group of an expert group.