Featured Event
Fifth Annual ICLRD Conference
The fifth Annual ICLRD Conference took place on the 21-22 January 2010 in the Killyhevlin Hotel, Enniskillen. Attended by over 130 people representing central, regional and local government, elected representatives, policy-makers, cross-border networks, community activists, academics and representatives of the business community, the theme of this event was Preparing for Economic Recovery: Planning Ireland, North and South, out of Recession.
Sponsored by the Special EU Programmes Body with support from InterTradeIreland and the Higher Education Authority. The conference was organised around four sessions:
- Opening and Session 1: Health Check on Economic Development, Planning and Infrastructure
- Session 2: Planning and Economic Recovery – The Social and Community Dimension
- Session 3: Building the Platform for Economic Recovery
- Session 4: Recovery through Collaborative Spatial Planning
Speakers included: Declan Kelly, US Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland; John Fitzgerald of the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI); Pat McArdle, Economist and Irish Times Columnist; Conor Skehan of the Dublin Institute of Technology; Wesley Shannon of the Department of Environment, Northern Ireland; Hubert Kearns of Sligo County Council; Charlotte Kahn of the Boston Foundation’s Indicators Project; Holly St. Clair, Boston Metropolitan Planning Council; Celine McHugh of Forfás; Martin Spollen of the Strategic Investment Board; Brian Murray, The Workspace Group; and Greg Lloyd of the University of Ulster.
In opening the conference, Professor John Fitzgerald told conference delegates that “The UK faces a structural problem in its public finances of a similar order of magnitude to that in the Republic of Ireland. However, while a very serious adjustment has been made in Ireland to put the public finances on a sustainable path to recovery, the UK has postponed all such action until after the election. Thus the Northern Ireland economy faces a number of years of very tough fiscal action in the 2011-15 period, albeit superimposed on a world economic recovery”.
In closing the two-day conference, US Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland, Declan Kelly, emphasised that indigenous development – leading to industry clusters, where feasible – will be very relevant to the long-term prosperity and successful sustainable development in today’s fast-paced business environment.
As well as discussing the current economic situation across the island, a number of speakers stressed that spatial planning has a key role to play in securing economic recovery in both Irish jurisdictions. As we move into recovery, Charlotte Khan of the Boston Indicators Project in the US emphasised the value of using data to inform and drive a shared civic agenda, thus ensuring that future policies are evidence-informed and ‘fit for purpose’. A clear message emerging from the conference was that the economic environment of the future across the island of Ireland will be different to that of the ‘noughties’; with recovery being driven by the concentration of employment growth in major urban areas.
To facilitate continued debate of the issues raised during the conference, an on-line discussion forum has been established and can be accessed from the top right tab of the ICLRD home page. This discussion forum is open to both conference delegates and anyone with an interest in the issues of economic recovery, the environment, infrastructure provision, social capital, cross-border cooperation and spatial planning; and will stay live until the 26th February 2010.
Over the coming week, copies of all presentations, together with podcasts, will be available for download. Please see the Conference programme for a full list of speakers, chairs and presentations.
The summary report of our Fourth Annual Conference held in January 2009 in Letterkenny on Achieving Balanced Regional Development: Dynamic Regions, Spatial Strategies and Collaboration are available, along with presentations and audio files.
Featured Publications
ICLRD Briefing Paper Series
ICLRD is publishing a series of short timely articles that explore how various forms of planning, enacted at different spatial scales, can contribute to better collaboration on the pressing issues facing both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
By considering both jurisdictions on the island and the potential synergies and efficiencies that can be realised through cooperation, we aim to provide a more rounded view than considering each jurisdiction in isolation. We believe that good planning, following international best practice, can be a major part in the crafting of practical solutions to inter-jurisdictional and cross-border cooperation.
Articles available to date include:
Paper 1: Good Planning Key to Future Success–Prof. Rob Kitchin, NUI Maynooth & Prof. Alastair Adair, University of Ulster
Paper 2: Linking Spatial Planning with Public Investment: Perspectives from the island of Ireland–David Counsell, Planner & Prof. Greg Lloyd, University of Ulster
Further articles will be added on a monthly basis; with the next papers in the series considering the conditions necessary for Gateway development and the role of smaller gateways in economic development, and spatial indicators and the mapping of strategic infrastructure and key services on the island of Ireland.
