TWICE THE SIZE - DIT Update - Dublin Institute of Technology

3 CHANGING IRELAND – THE CONTEXT
“Continuous discontinuity, constant change, is our shared condition.” (Zygmunt Bauman, 2002)
Since the start of the 1990s, Ireland has experienced an unprecedented era of growth and has
undergone profound transformations in all areas of life. The transition from being a poor nation
on the periphery of Europe with a weak economy and soaring unemployment, to a country with
high economic growth, full employment, continued population growth and generally regarded as
being a ‘success model’ for the new EU member countries can be attributed to an interaction of
various internal and external factors. Of particular note, however, was Ireland’s laissez-faire
approach to industrial policy during a period of global economic restructuring (O’Hagan, 1995).
The economic transformation, largely based on the pursuit of the high-tech FDI development
model, resulted in the formation of new spatial and social realities – a new geography of
Ireland. In this chapter, under three headings: places, people and potential, an attempt is made
to depict some of the pieces of the complex puzzle that Ireland became and provide a broader
context for its journey into the future.
3.1 Places
This section discusses the most recent developments in concepts and theories in economic
geography, reviews the evolution of past spatial policies and patterns in Ireland, and finally, it
explores the current spatial trends in the European Union and Ireland.
3.1.1 Space and Economy
Local and regional development has become an increasingly important activity for governments
at all levels across the world since the 1960s and 1970s. In parallel, the context for local and
regional development has been dramatically transformed by the changing patterns of economic
activity, and become far more challenging. The economic system has grown to be more
internationalised, knowledge intensive and competitive. Its contemporary global form is
characterised, among other things, by a deepened unevenness in the prospects for development
for particular social groups and territories, and clearer geographical inequalities in prosperity
and well-being.
At both global and national scales only a limited number of localities and regions seem to be
reaping the benefits arising from new opportunities provided by the processes of globalisation.
In general, successful regions tend to be those that have something distinctive to offer to
markets that expand beyond the traditional realm of the local and regional spheres. Pike,
Rodriguez-Pose & Tomaney (2006) have identified three types of ‘winning regions’.
Large metropolitan regions. Large urban agglomerations attract many high value-added
service activities, such as business, financial, real estate and insurance services, as well
as the headquarters of corporations (Taylor & Walker 2001). The economies of
agglomeration derived from such concentration of production factors, in consequence,
draw research and development, and design activities (Scott & Storper 2003).
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