Limerick County Council is looking to changes being introduced under local government reform to reverse the fortunes of the west Limerick town of Rathkeale.
With almost 50 per cent of the population made up of Travellers, according to a council survey, development in the town, just 10 miles from Limerick city, has been minimal. A short travelling distance from the city's Raheen Industrial Estate, the town of 1,700 has Andersen Ireland, a subsidiary of Hans Andersen of Austria, manufacturers of costume jewellery, as its principal foreign employer.
But under the new county development board structures, representatives from each of the county's electoral areas will form community forums, liaising with the local authority and co-ordinating the efforts of State agencies.
Next month, nominations will be sought to fill 10 positions on the Rathkeale forum.
"It is important that the Travelling community buys into the process and that is why we are keen that they will be represented on the forum," Mr Seamus O'Connor, a local authority social worker, said.
About 25 acres of land are zoned for industrial use in Rathkeale's area plan, the first of 16 such plans to be adopted around the county. A new training centre for Travellers is being built and two urban renewal projects have been completed, one on the main street, the other in the Fairhill area, which has been settled by Traveller families.
"There has been a lot of public investment by the council in the town over the years which has positioned it very well for development," Mr Kieran Lehane, the council's housing officer, said.
Many of the Travellers are involved in trading in Britain and the Republic and homes are often left unoccupied for long periods during the year. One of the town's main issues is the problems which have occurred as a result of a shift in the balance of property held by Travellers and by the settled community. "The traders are trading successfully and are doing well out of the economy. Their population is growing and, to accommodate themselves, they are buying property," Mr Lehane said.
Mr O'Connor added that along with industrial development, private housing initiatives were also being sought.
"What we feel now is we are at the stage where both communities need to look at where the town is going," he said.
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Readers who want to contact Eibhir Mulqueen can leave messages for him by phoning 01-6707711, ext 6544.
emulqueen@irish-times.ie