After years of neglect and a series of economic setbacks, Wexford is preparing to fight back.
A major report at the weekend was the latest of several to outline how far the county has fallen behind others in the new Ireland. Now, according to the Wexford county manager, Mr Seamus Dooley, it is time for action.
The multi-agency Wexford County Development Board is to be given the task of ensuring that the strategies drawn up in recent years are implemented. The latest report, a rural development strategy prepared by Peter Bacon and Associates, says there is evidence of high levels of deprivation and exclusion.
"When that is measured in terms of indicators such as educational attainment, unemployment experience, home ownership and car ownership, it appears that deprivation in rural Co Wexford is much higher than the national average," it says.
"Whereas the trend nationally was for a decline in levels of deprivation and exclusion during the period 1990 to 1996, during that same period Co Wexford showed an increase."
The strategy is the second Bacon report on Wexford's development needs. The first, in 1999, led to the establishment of the Wexford Enterprise Initiative, an inter-agency project chaired by Mr Dooley. It reported last year, and a number of initiatives such as the setting up of business incubation units and IT training facilities in Enniscorthy and Wexford have followed.
Yet another report, published last year by Wexford Area Partnership, found the county had the lowest per-capita income in the south-east. Mr Jimmy Curtis, chairman of Wexford County Council, which commissioned the Bacon reports, said the county was "reeling" from the shock of a series of factory closures, including the announcement in May that the Wexal plant in Enniscorthy was to close with the loss of 150 jobs, and this month's closure of Wexford Weaving, which employed a similar number.
As well as these closures, 40 jobs were to go at Wexford Electronix, while ABS Pumps and Theo Benning had also announced job cuts. There was an urgent need for a job-creation strategy, as "we cannot allow this haemorrhage to continue", he said.
The perception by outsiders of Wexford as a wealthy county has meant recognition of its problems have been slow in coming, but the Government and State agencies now recognise the difficulties.
On a visit to Wexford on Saturday to officially open the town's quay extension, the Taoiseach said the Government knew about the area's problems. "I know that there have been job losses in Wexford," he said. "I also know that the pace of industrial development has not been as fast here as elsewhere."
Mr Ahern confirmed that a third-level outreach facility is to be provided at St Peter's College in Wexford town, which was offered by the Ferns diocese of the Catholic Church. The county has a high secondary school dropout rate and one of the lowest participation rates in the State in third-level education.
Mr Dooley said a multi-agency approach, with local organisations co-operating with State agencies such as Enterprise Ireland and the IDA, would be required to bring about change. The next step, he said, should be the establishment of an implementation unit within the County Development Board to ensure the strategies agreed are put in place. "We have identified the problems and now we need to drive the solutions forward with great urgency and pace," he said.
The most recent Bacon report, dealing with areas outside the four main towns of Wexford, Gorey, Enniscorthy and New Ross, indicates the scale of the task. The report says economic decline in Wexford is caused largely by difficulties in the county's main sector of activity, agriculture, as well as weaknesses in traditional manufacturing. The county has failed to attract sufficient high-tech industries, and tourism has also been sluggish.
It recommends many measures, including promoting diversification in agriculture, developing fisheries and marine leisure facilities, the clustering of development in rural villages and improving access to education.