Offaly Local Development Strategy European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) Rural Development / LEADER Programme 2014 - 2020 Offaly LDS Summary The LAG – Governance Model Organisation Details Name of LAG Offaly Local Community Development Committee Postal Address Offaly County Council, Áras an Chontae, Charleville Road, Tullamore Co. Offaly Telephone Number (057) 9346800 Email Address [email protected] Website www.offaly.ie LAG Roles and Responsibilities As per the Heads of Agreement, the following will be the proposed mechanisms for delivery of the next Rural Development Programme 2014 – 2020. Financial Management Local Authority as Lead Financial Partner Administration Offaly Local Development Company Animation & calls for Offaly Local Development Company proposals Management of Staff Offaly Local Development Company Monitoring/Evaluation Offaly Local Development Company and Offaly Local Community Development Committee 1 Offaly LDS Summary The LAG – Membership Statutory Interests - 8 Members Sector Member Name Organisation Cllr John Clendennen Offaly County Council Local Authority Cllr Declan Harvey Offaly County Council Elected Members Cllr Brendan Killeavy Offaly County Council Declan Kirrane Offaly County Council Local Authority Orla Martin Offaly County Council Officials Anna Marie Delaney Offaly County Council Tony Dalton Laois & Offaly Education and Training Board State Agencies Con Feighery Teagasc Graham Touhy Department of Social Protection Non Statutory Interests - 10 Members Community & Tom Finnerty Offaly Public Participation Network Community Voluntary Frances Walsh Representatives (2) Social Inclusion Elizabeth Fleming Offaly Public Participation Network Social Margaret Murphy Inclusion Representatives (2) Offaly Public Participation Network Environment Eimhin Shortt Environmental Representative (1) Local development and community Brendan O’Loughlin Offaly Local Development Company development Other civic society or Dominic Doheny Construction Industry Federation ‘local and John Keena Offaly Irish Farmers Association community’ Henry O’Shea SIPTU interests Christina Byrne Slieve Bloom Rural Development Co-operative 2 Offaly LDS Summary Proposed Implementation Arrangement for LEADER element of the Rural Development Programme 2014 – 2020 in County Offaly with LCDC as LAG & Offaly Local Development Company as lead implementing partner. 3 Offaly LDS Summary Area Profile Area Selection Overview: The development of this area profile and socio-economic profile has been prepared as part of the development of a Local Development Strategy for Offaly, based on key socio economic indicators for the County; data contained in the Local Economic and Community Plan (LECP) for Offaly and feedback provided as part of a comprehensive stakeholder engagement and consultation process. This provides the basis for key themes, objectives and actions for the County – outlined in Section Four of this LDS – that will contribute to the economic, social, educational, environmental and cultural development of the County and be consistent with promoting social inclusion, reducing poverty and ensuring the overall economic development of rural Offaly. Area Selection: The proposed geographical area for the LDS is County Offaly; a predominantly rural county with a population of 76,687 (Census 2011). Tullamore is the County Town with a population of 14,361, with other main centres of population being Edenderry, Birr, Banagher, Shinrone, Clara, Kilcormac, Daingean and Portarlington (based on population density of greater than 100 persons per square kilometre being classified as a rural town). The County is bordered by seven counties which are Galway, Roscommon, Tipperary, Laois, Westmeath, Kildare and Meath. 4 Offaly LDS Summary Socio – Economic In the context of local development in Offaly and a subsequent tailored LDS, Profile changing settlement patterns and the rural economy play a crucial role. These are linked to a number of key socio economic indicators, detailed below: Population Growth: Population Statistics indicate a percentage population increase of 8.2% from 2006 to 2011 consistent with the percentage population increase nationally. The strongest population growth occurred in the Edenderry Municipal District (MD) at 12% with Tullamore MD at 9% and Birr at 4.4%. Urban / Rural: Approximately 56% of the population of County Offaly reside in rural areas and 44% residing in urban areas. The percentage share in urban areas increased since 2006 with a corresponding fall in rural areas. Density: In addition to this, the population density of Offaly is low at 38.2% by comparison to the state figure of 76.7%. Birr MD has the lowest population density within Offaly; with the highest population densities occurring in the three urban centres of Birr, Edenderry and Tullamore. Age Profile: Analysis of changes to the size of the population cohort between 15 and 24 years of age during the period 2006 and 2011, (i.e. they were 10 – 19 years of age in 2006 and 15 – 24 by 2011), established that 912 persons had left the County. The decline of this cohort represents an overall loss of 5.8% of the 2006 population of County Offaly. Lone Parents: All three MD areas have lone parent rates that are high by comparison to the E&M Region (22.0%) and nationally (25.8%) with Birr MD at 32%, Edenderry MD at 28% and Tullamore MD at 40%. Lone Mother families account for 85% of Lone parent families across the County. Lone parent family rates are highest in urban areas. Nationality: The majority (91%) of the population of Offaly are Irish by nationality. UK, Polish, other EU countries and Rest of the World all account for 2% of each population while Lithuanian nationalities account for 1% of the County’s population. Ethnicity: Offaly is predominantly of White Irish Ethnicity. The White Irish Traveller population represents 1.3% of the total population. Birr Urban and Rural EDs have the highest concentration of Irish Travellers in the County. Male EDR: Between 2006 and 2011, male EDRs underwent a spectacular reversal and in those Economic five years rose to their highest levels recorded over the period 1991 – 2011. Rural Dependency Ratio males had an EDR of 0.62 while males in rural towns had the highest EDR of all (EDR) groups at 0.85. In other words, for every 100 males at work in County Offaly towns, 85 males were either on pensions or unemployed. 5 Offaly LDS Summary Female EDR: Rankings for females are comparable to males in that the EDRs of females in rural towns are consistently higher than the EDRs of females in rural area with a similar trajectory as the males with large increases between 2006 and 2011; in 2011 the female EDR in rural areas was 0.54 and in rural towns was 0.73. National Comparison: The national male EDR in 2011 was 0.62 compared with 0.71 in County Offaly. The female EDR for the State in 2011 was 0.53 and, as for males, it was higher again at County level with a value of 0.62 Deprivation Index: Offaly reflected a drop in the absolute deprivation score from -3.2 in 2006 to -11.6 in 2011. This represents a drop of 8.4, compared to a nationwide drop of 6.5. Offaly has significantly worsened from the 10th to the 5th most disadvantaged local authority Deprivation Score area in Ireland. Over one-fifth (20.3%) of the total population of the County are living in disadvantaged and very disadvantaged areas. Based on Pobal HP Deprivation Index Mapping, 26 new disadvantaged areas emerged between 2006 and 2011, accounting for 46% of the total. The most deprived small areas in Offaly (Census 2011) are colour-coded, graduating from red to yellow to green in accordance with deprivation levels from highest to lowest, although all are still the most deprived areas in Offaly based on 2011 data. Name places highlighted in bright yellow are those that were not amongst the most deprived in 2006 but became so in the 2011 census (Map attached – Appendix 2). Principle Economic Male Labour Force: Status: By 2011, the male labour force participation rate returned to 2002 levels (70%), a fall from 2006 when male labour force participation rate was at 73.45%. The higher figure can largely be attributed to dramatic increases in construction related employment between 1991 and 2006 when male employment in the Building and Construction sector increased from 9.1% to 22.5% of the workforce; by 2011 this figure had fallen back to 9.5%. Female Labour Force: Simultaneously the steady rise in the female labour force participation rate tapered off for the first time in two decades - from 31.12% in 1991 to 52.16% in 2011. Despite this the County female participation rate was 52% in 2011, contrasting with the national figure of 55% in 2011. County Labour Force: From analysis two key implications have arisen: (a) the tendency for the female labour force to live in or near rural towns while the male labour force is much more geographically dispersed; (b) the relative stability of labour force participation in rural towns in comparison to rural areas. Unemployment: From 2006 and 2011 male unemployment rates nearly trebled in rural towns (to 31%) and almost quadrupled in rural areas (to 22%) while female unemployment 6 Offaly LDS Summary doubled across the County. In 2011 male unemployment rate for Offaly was 26% as compared to the national rate of 22%. The County female unemployment rate of 19.3% compared to national average of 15%. Spatial patterns associated with unemployment rates need to be considered regarding sets of Town and their hinterlands e.g. Tullamore town and hinterland VS Banagher town and Hinterland. (See Map 7 and 8 – Appendix 2). Youth Unemployment: th Offaly has the 5 highest level of youth unemployment in the Country at over 40%. Education: Level Completed: rd 16% of the population in Offaly over 15yrs have completed 3 level education compared to 26% for the E&M Region and 25% for the state. The Edenderry MD fares worst of the three MDs at 13% Since 1991 in general there has been continuous improvement in levels of education among the adult population.