Cavan needs 10,000 new jobs by 2040

Ten thousand new Cavan jobs will be needed to meet demand as Cavan’s population is predicted to swell to around 100,000 over the next two decades, according to a senior planner.

The head of planning at Cavan County Council, Nicholas O’Kane, provided the forecast to councillors at their January meeting on Monday afternoon. He also outlined that the expected population growth would require the construction of 230 new homes per annum in County Cavan.
Official figures released in 2016, show that just 2,076 homes were built in the Republic. In Cavan there were 140 planning applications for individual dwellings approved. Mr O’Kane was speaking in the context of submissions that the council hope will help shape a major national plan to include aspects vital for County Cavan’s development over the next 20 years.
The estimated growth in population reflects the growth experienced between 1996-2016, when the county population increased by 23,000 to present day levels, climbing towards 80,000.
“It was double that of most neighbouring counties,” Mr O’Kane told members, adding, “There are thing happening in Cavan that aren’t happening elsewhere. It’s a point that needs to be recognised.”
 

Rezoning land

To assist in the creation of 10,000 new jobs locally, Mr O’Kane pointed to the need for the provision and rezoning of more than 780 hectares for commercial and industrial purposes, a figure that shocked many of the councillors present.
He indicated that the council would urge the assembly to back calls for the implementation of a specific fund for Border counties to enable purchase and service such lands, noting: “We need to be Brexit ready.”
 

Institute of Technology

Furthermore, Mr O’Kane added that the enhancement of Cavan Institute as a potential Institute of Technology sometime in future “would be very significant”, and that it would be key both in terms of “attracting businesses and keeping young people in the region”.
With almost a third of workers in County Cavan working outside of the county and commuting for employment, Mr O’Kane added: “We need to start getting jobs into the county.”
However, when it came to housing, he warned members that one-off rural properties did not feature significantly in any development strategies and this, he felt, would pose a much greater blocking point than present stiff planning regulations.
As for tourism, Cavan, he accepted, requires definitive branding beyond being sandwiched between the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland’s Ancient East, with a new Lakelands region mooted; while the need for a East-West link through the county would also be highlighted.
Responding to Mr O’Kane’s presentation, Cathaoirleach Paddy McDonald (SF) spoke of personal experience seeing his own son travel to Dublin and elsewhere for work.
“Unfortunately we don’t have the jobs coming in right now,” he said.
Winston Bennett (FG) in his contribution pointed to developments at Killykeen to boost tourism.
Damien Brady (SF) queried where the Council had land to meet development demands, with fellow party member Daniel Downey calling for more to establish Cavan touristically.
“A mess,” is how Paddy O’Reilly (FG) described the lack of suitable, readily available industrial sites for companies to move into in Cavan.
“When are we going to wake up?” he asked, adding more was needed too to protect the future viability of rural communities.
Housing, he said, was “crucial”, a point agreed with by Peter McVitty (FG), Clifford Kelly and Sean Smith (FF).
Fianna Fáil’s Sarah O’Reilly and Fergal Curtin, and Paddy Smith (FG) struck the chord for further developing the East-West link, connecting Sligo and Dundalk through Cootehill, Bailieborough and Kingscourt. The plan has been put on hold for over a decade due to lack of funding.


Meeting targets

Speaking after the meeting, Council CEO Tommy Ryan told The Anglo-Celt that the submission to the Northern and Western Regional Assembly (NWRA), for which submissions are due January 26, would be that Cavan has a “lot to offer” the region.

“Cavan and even Monaghan are on the extremities of that and are influenced greatly by the eastern region as well, so for that reason, it might appear we’re not so included in the North-West plan as the greater Atlantic area or the likes of Letterkenny. But our submission is that Cavan has a lot of offer and will have a lot to offer in terms of delivering and meeting the targets set out in the National Planning Framework,” said Mr Ryan.

Focusing on population and job creation, he pointed to Cavan’s key strategic positioning adjacent to airports, ports and other main drivers of trade.

“The population of Cavan grew significantly faster than all the other counties in the North-West region over the last 20 years and we consider it will grow faster again in next 20, so that needs to be reflected [in the NWRA Issues Paper].

“The importance of this of course is looking to the future, that targets for Cavan in the plan are recognised, because the National Investment Programme will be based very much on what is contained in this Issues Paper. So it’s really about putting Cavan front and centre. If we don’t have a target for growth in the plan for Cavan, you won’t attract the necessary investment in infrastructure - be it roadways, water, broadband or electricity - to make these things happen. Those are the economic infrastructures that enable development,” said Mr Ryan.


Background to the submission

Nicholas O’Kane’s presentation to the council was provided in the context of submissions from the local authority to the Northern and Western Regional Assembly’s (NWRA) Issues Paper for developing framework for future growth. The paper will, in turn, feed into the National Planning Framework (NPF), which is to be drawn up by the Government in tandem with the National Investment Programme (NIP) for the next 20 years.
The Issues Paper on a regional level is a consultation document prepared in advance of the drafting a new Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES) for the entirety of the Northern and Western Region.
Nationally the NPF will stand above all else, followed by the various spatial strategies, all of which will be propped up by each council’s respective Local Development Plans (LDP).

Central to the Council’s submission to the NWRA are the issues of population and job creation, infrastructural development, tourism and education.