The Irish Experience of Objective 1: Lessons for Wales

Objective 1 status for Ireland during the 1990s coincided with rather than caused the major recovery in the country's economy. Instead, longer-term, home-grown policies were at work of which Wales should takeheed. This is the main conclusion of a major new report from the Institute of Welsh Affairs published today, The Irish Experience of Objective One: some Lessons for Wales.

While Ireland achieved a growth rate of 7 to 8 percent a year during the 1990s, one one percent was directly attributable to Objective One funding. The balance was due to the country's inward investment policy, its investment in tertiary education - in particular a network of Institutes of Technology - and encouragement of indigenous SMEs.

The Irish experience tells us that we need to work within a timeframe of at least 20 years rather than the seven years of the Objective One opportunity. Objective One funding should be deployed to pump-prime long-term investment, especially in education: "The availability of EU funding could facilitate a more coherent strategy in which Welsh Further Education Colleges have explicitly defined roles ... Some could be orientated towards meeting local demands, while others would have a wider brief with respect to the national economy as a whole".

The report's author, IWA Director John Osmond, also draws attention to other factors which Wales should consider emulating:

• The Irish policy process in which experts are commissioned to come up with detailed development plans before the public consultations process begins - in Wales the process occurs the other way around.
  
  

• The Irish approach to dispersing prosperity - in particular the development of a spatial strategy with key centres being identified as 'gateway towns' or growth poles.
  
  

• A fundamental review of indigenous business support services - "If the Irish model was followed, support for indigenous small businesses would be integrated more closely within the WDA's operation".