The "Regional Problem", Urban Disadvantage and Development

Using a range of data on population, the labour force, employment, unemployment and incomes, Section 1 of this paper outlines the changing nature of the "regional problem" and offers an assessment of regional performance in Ireland over the last 25 years. In 1971 there was some justification for concluding that Dublin was performing well in comparison to other regions, particularly in the western and north-western parts of the country, but this generalisation is no longer tenable. Section 2 examines the problem of urban disadvantage with particular reference to the Dublin Region. This section also focuses on the meaning of development and whether the groups experiencing disadvantage benefit from the development process. The high levels of unemployment, educational disadvantage, lone-parent households, as well as the high proportion of people in the unskilled or semi-skilled social classes, all suggest that a substantial portion of the population has been largely excluded from the benefits of economic and social progress over the recent years.