TWICE THE SIZE - DIT Update - Dublin Institute of Technology

SCENARIO 2: The Pearl of the East (National scenario: THE WILDCARDS OF EQUALITY)
Interim Speech at the Regional Investment Conference, March 2030.
Colleagues, we meet today to reflect and take stock of the powerful physical and cultural
metamorphosis that Dundalk has undergone over the last 30 years. Despite a general slow down
of our Celtic Tiger economy since 2010, we have witnessed a reawakening of indigenous industry
and business along the East coast. Our mid position in the Dublin to Belfast corridor has enabled
us to enjoy increasing economic and social prosperity. Situated at the cutting edge of the global
economic framework, we have managed to tap into the information and knowledge-based artery
pulsing up the coast. Over the past decade Dundalk has become a more peaceful, equitable and
environmentally stable place to live and work. Public participation in decision-making is at an
all time high, as power is more widely shared. North/South cooperation is strong both politically
and economically, having overcome the teething problems of the new power sharing
arrangement brought in during 2007.
The following five years marked a turning point in Anglo/Irish relations, as slowly but surely,
faith and trust began to surface as fundamental priorities within the political system. And By
2012 longstanding fears of being ‘eclipsed’ by the growth strategies of Ireland’s metropolitan
zones have been replaced with hope for the sustainable growth potential of Ireland’s secondtier
city. Although wealth and prosperity have taken hold, the gap between rich and poor is no
longer unforgiving.
As the pendulum continues to shift away from the materialistic values that dominated Ireland in
the previous century, a new civil ethic has emerged, one that is based on growth in knowledge,
human capabilities and social capital. To counteract the destructive side effects of Ireland’s
Celtic Tiger boom era, sustainable development is widely embraced in business, civic and
government institutions. Spatial planning and regional development have emerged as central to
the region’s continued progress in tackling urban sprawl and unsustainable development. Smart
growth has become the key decision making mantra of the 2010’s. However, high levels of policy
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Quality of life is high for the
majority, and social issues
dominate our political agenda.
While the negative border town
image that had prevented
Dundalk from becoming
economically competitive for
almost half a century, still
lingers in some parts, we are
one step closer to realising our
dream of becoming Ireland’s
new ‘21 st century city’.