Transcript Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region

Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region
SECTION (1): CONTRASTING IRISH REGIONS II:
THE DUBLIN REGION
Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region
PHYSICAL PROCESSES
Climate
• Cool temperate oceanic/maritime
• Warmer and drier than the Western Region
• Temperatures: 16ºC in the summer and between 5 and
6ºC in the winter
• Rainfall: 800 mm of rainfall annually
• Rainfall is lower than elsewhere in country
Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region
PHYSICAL PROCESSES
Climate (continued)
• Rain shadow effect: most precipitation is lost before the
Atlantic depressions reach the Dublin region
• Daylight: the region receives 4 hrs sunshine per day
• Growing season: is approximately 270 days
• Crops planted in the Dublin region ripen earlier than crops
elsewhere
• Coastal location: frost has less of an effect on the area in
spring
Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region
PHYSICAL PROCESSES
Soils
• Soil type is mainly brown earths
• A deep fertile soil that is easily cultivated
• High humus content derived from the plant litter of
deciduous forests that once covered the region
• Alluvial deposits laid down by the local rivers are highly
productive
• In the northern section of the region, marine, light, sandy
soils are free draining and ideal for market
gardening/horticulture
• Blanket bogs are found in the Dublin Mountains
Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region
PHYSICAL PROCESSES
Relief and drainage
• Lowland area that is undulating towards the north and
west
• Has good drainage, as the main rock type is limestone, a
permeable sedimentary rock which allows water to drain
freely
• Rivers, e.g. River Liffey, Tolka and Dodder
Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region
PRIMARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
Agriculture
• Dublin region is highly productive and commercial even
though the area only has about 1,500 farms, a little over
1 per cent of the national total
• Highly urbanised
• Farm incomes are 40 per cent higher than the national
average
• Lowland nature
• Farming is highly mechanised and intensive, e.g. the
region produces 11 per cent of the national wheat crop
and 15 per cent of the national potato crop
Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region
PRIMARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
Agriculture (continued)
• Deep, fertile soils
• High yields of tillage crops e.g. wheat and barley
• Malting barley is used for the brewing and distilling
industry
• Protein-rich barley is used for animal feed
• Farming output is high due to demands of a nearby large
and wealthy urban market
• Due to close proximity to Dublin city transport costs for
agricultural products are low
Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region
PRIMARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
Agriculture (continued)
• Age profile of farmers is lower than in the West
• Region does not suffer from outward migration
• Farmers are well educated – use a market orientated and
scientific approach
• Farmers specialise in market gardening – migrant workers
from nearby Dublin city are used for labour
• Farms are constantly under threat from urban sprawl –
encouraging farming in the area to be intensive and
profitable
Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region
PRIMARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
Fishing
• Main fishing port in the Dublin region is Howth; it is the
third largest port in Ireland with a value of €5 million
• Dublin Bay prawns make up 40 per cent of the total
shellfish exported from Ireland
• Fishing in the Dublin region is declining
• Overfishing: in the 1960s, 35 per cent of fish landed in
Ireland were caught in Dublin ports; 3 per cent in 2000
• Aquaculture is limited
• Irish Sea is more polluted than the Atlantic Ocean
Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region
SECONDARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
Manufacturing Activities
• 25 per cent of Ireland’s manufacturing industries and 40
per cent of people employed in the manufacturing sector
are in this region
• Nodal point: a focus of routeways, rail and air networks
in Ireland
• EU and worldwide markets
• Direct governmental involvement during the 1990s
resulted in 60 per cent of all new industry developed in
Dublin region
Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region
SECONDARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
Manufacturing Activities (continued)
• Low rate of corporate tax of 12.5 per cent for new
industries
• Modern infrastructure, state-of-the-art
telecommunication links and easily accessible industrial
estates
• Abundant well-educated workforce
• 80 per cent of Ireland’s colleges are located in the region
Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region
SECONDARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
Manufacturing Activities (continued)
• Low age profile as 45 per cent of population are under 25
years of age
• Industrial output per worker is higher in the Dublin region
as are manufacturing wages which are 10 per cent higher
than the national average
• As the people of the Dublin region are wealthier than
other areas this attracts producers of luxury-based goods
• Location of the largest financial services sector in the
country is in the IFSC in Dublin: businesses can avail of its
financial management and business development advice
services
Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region
SECONDARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
B. Location of industry
• Traditional brewing and distilling, e.g. Guinness, and printing,
e.g. Irish Independent
• Modern growth industries of internet technology, e.g. Google,
and pharmaceutical, e.g. Pfizer
• Traditionally located within the city limits because of close
proximity to the port and a good supply of local manual labour
• Newer industries have tended to locate on the outskirts of
Dublin city in close proximity to the M50 as it is easily
accessible
• Close to a large labour pool in the satellite towns
• More spacious sites available
Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region
SECONDARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
Example:
• Wyeth/Pfizer Biopharmaceutical in Clondalkin
• 95 per cent of people employed in the plant have third level
qualifications
• Employs over 1,000 people
• Invested over €640 million in Science Foundation Ireland
Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region
SECONDARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
• Manufacturing is also now widely dispersed
• Five of the world’s top 10 software companies located
here
• Dublin region is highly dependent on foreign investment
with over 800 of its companies from overseas and 350 of
those US-based companies
• An issue that is worrying the Irish government
• Hit with many job losses: in 2005 alone 43 per cent of
the 21,500 job losses nationally were in the Dublin region
Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region
TERTIARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
Tourism
• The region is the main point of entry for visitors to the
country
• Benefited from the removal of Shannon as a stopover point
• 27 per cent of Irish visitors stay in region
• Tourism earns €1 billion for the region annually
• In 2008 over 4 million tourists visited Dublin
• 90 per cent of all scheduled air flights to Ireland land at
Dublin airport
• A year round business
Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region
TERTIARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
Tourism (continued)
• Governmental involvement
• Easily accessible for visitors because of the many modes of
public transport
• Dublin City Council’s involvement
• Well-developed accommodation
• Faílte Ireland has a very successful marketing strategy for
the Dublin region
• A city break location, third most popular city break
destination in 2003
Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region
TRANSPORT
• Most efficient transport system in the country
• Governmental investment under the NDP
• Dublin port processes 50 per cent of Irish trade
• Dublin airport is the largest in the country and a major
employer; it handled 20.9 million passengers in 2009
• Well developed public transport system with Dublin Bus,
DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) and the LUAS light rail
system
• Suffers badly from traffic congestion
Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region
TRANSPORT (continued)
• 90 per cent of all commercial transport is by road
• In 1997 during peak times traffic speed had been reduced
in the city to 14 km per hour
• Introduced the Transport 21 scheme
• In 2006 construction of Dublin Port Tunnel
• Upgrade the M50
• Create seven new LUAS lines
Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region
TRANSPORT (continued)
• Expansion of the DART lines to double its capacity
• Expansion of QBCs
• A fivefold increase in taxi numbers
• Government need to introduce a policy of higher density
housing along public transport routes
• This is in line with the European model of cities
• Urban infill is also a policy that could be investigated
Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region
THE GROWTH OF DUBLIN CITY
• Expanded rapidly since the 1950s
• Zone of influence is now a large proportion of the Eastern
half of the country
• Dominant primate city
• Founded by the Vikings in the ninth century
• Low-lying land at the mouth of Dublin Bay
• Bridging point
• Centre of trade and administration
• Focus of road and rail networks
Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region
THE GROWTH OF DUBLIN CITY (continued)
• Combined population of Dublin City, Wicklow, Kildare and
Meath is 1.6 million
• In 1971, Dublin City had 35.7 per cent of the population
and this is likely to increase to almost 46 per cent of the
national population by 2020 if current trends continue
• Leader in economic performance
• Average economic output per worker is 108 per cent
higher than the national average
• Centre of Irish Government and the headquarters of many
private companies
Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region
THE GROWTH OF DUBLIN CITY (continued)
• City has expanded due to influx of foreign migrants and
rural to urban migration
• Wide variety of educational and healthcare services
• Excellent communications systems
• Modern telecommunication services
• 1970s uncontrolled expansion of the city
• Planners designed and created new towns on Dublin’s
rural-urban fringe, e.g. Blanchardstown
Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region
THE GROWTH OF DUBLIN CITY (continued)
• People continually leaving the city to live within
commutable distance as house prices in the city are still
up to €100,000 more expensive than in the rest of the
country
• 2007 a new town to the west developed – Adamstown
• People move to Kildare, Meath and Wicklow and commute
to the city for work
• Massive traffic congestion
• Workers live as far away as Carlow (90 km) from the city
centre
Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region
THE GROWTH OF DUBLIN CITY (continued)
• Newly dispersed Dublin City: three new county councils –
Dun Laoghaire, Fingal and South Dublin county councils –
were created
• Dublin Corporation is responsible for issues such as water,
sewage and other public services
• Irish government – National Spatial Strategy (NSS) to
combat the growth of Dublin by establishing gateways,
e.g. Galway and hubs, e.g. Kilkenny
• Encourage development in the gateway and hub locations
in the Dublin region
Chapter 24: The Dynamics of Irish Regions II: The Dublin Region
THE GROWTH OF DUBLIN CITY (continued)
• The NSS will encourage that:
 vacant land in the city will be listed and redeveloped
 existing housing is utilised
 old warehouses are regenerated for business use
 older people are moved to smaller houses to make larger
houses more available to families