Guest blog: Will your town miss out on recovery?

Pictured: Marc Coleman, founder of Octavian Research

Marc Coleman is founder of Octavian Research, an economic research publication and public affairs consultancy. Here he writes about getting your region’s voice heard in Ireland’s recovery.

3 weeks ago, we reported on Budget 2021 and on the €3.4 billion Recovery Fund earmarked to boost the domestic economy over the three year period of crisis, recovery and normalisation (2020-2022).

As well as helping recovery, the fund is an opportunity to create a new and more balanced relationship between regions, economic opportunity and work-life balance. So how will it be allocated? The good news is that you can help shape the answer. On page 39 of the Programme for Government, there is a commitment to the “promotion of citizen, sectoral and regional involvement in delivering actions within their own sphere of influence.”

Last week the government invited submissions to shape its forthcoming National Economic Plan. It is vitally important that all regional stakeholders make their voice heard in terms of the needs of their areas. This is important in the national as well as the local interest: sectoral and regional imbalance of the last recovery is well documented. In our April recovery strategy “An Economic Response to Covid-19” we stressed the need to make recovery more inclusive of both SMEs and of the regional and rural economies on which they depend.

Overreliance on metrics like GDP, jobs growth and house prices – which important in their own right – misled policy makers into thinking we had fully recovered.

Furthermore, overreliance on metrics like GDP, jobs growth and house prices – which important in their own right – misled policy makers into thinking we had fully recovered. Yes, the economy had recovered between 2014 and 2019, but adverse developments in relation to the cost of living – particularly accommodation – and to the quality of employment and life (long commutes, childcare dilemmas) led to two surprising election results when, despite delivering one of Europe’s – if not the world’s – most impressive recoveries, two Irish governments were punished by the electorate.

The penny has dropped. In the Programme for Government (PfG) – published in June – there is a clear understanding that well-being and GDP growth are not mutually exclusive. As we reported on June 24^th, the PFG has committed to developing “Quality of Life” indicators that more accurately measure what we really want out of life. And two hours spent in a car on the way to and back from work is not one of them.

As the table below shows, the Programme for Government contains exciting initiatives to rejuvenate town centres and villages along with consultative and operational mechanisms for consultation with local communities and collaboration between local authorities and stakeholders.

Many issues are unresolved, however. For a start, local authorities need to be resourced with local design, construction, planning, heritage and economic expertise to operationalise local recovery plans once agreed.

Secondly, to ensure that local investment benefits local SMEs, a range of procurement issues need to be addressed.

Last but not least, economic planning at regional level needs to be elevated to a new level or priority, with more active business representation and voice.

Find out how we can help your region shape its future info@octavian.ie

Marc Coleman is founder of Octavian Research, an economic research publication and public affairs consultancy that wrote the world’s first researched strategy response to the COVID-19 crisis (download www.octavian.ie ) and currently produces the world’s first weekly COVID-19 specific economic and business client research note (now in its 32^nd edition). He works with leading clients across industry, financial services and government agencies to produce policy influencing research and publications. He has authored five influential books on the current and previous recoveries and worked as an economist with the European Central Bank, Department of Finance, as Economics Editor of the Irish Times and Newstalk 106fm, and a Sunday Independent columnist. He is a leading speaker, event host and policy analyst and a champion of foreign language use in business under the Department of Education and Skills “Languages Connect” initiative