There are two Mayos meeting told, with one facing low population growth and economic stagnation
Mayo is a county of two contrasting sides. One side includes the main towns of Castlebar, Westport and Ballina. The other side is the county's smaller and more rural towns and villages.
Following a review of the draft Economic Development Plan (EDP) for Mayo, Cllr Harry Barrett said the county must demand more - more investment, faster delivery of infrastructure projects, greater local benefits from natural resources, and a stronger focus from the Government.
"There are two Mayos", Cllr Barret said, "One Mayo, centred on our main towns, is just about holding its own in terms of population, access to infrastructure, and they are just hitting the medium national income."
"Then there's a second Mayo," he said, addressing the October meeting of Mayo County Council, and continued to outline some hard-hitting facts about the challenges facing the ‘other Mayo.’
"Mayo is projected to have the lowest population growth in Ireland, just 2pc over 20 years, with an acute decline in the North West, threatening the viability of communities, the Irish language and Gaeltacht areas and the local economy,
"Mayo has a low labour force participation rate, narrow economic [growth], the fourth lowest median household income at just over €37,000, creating widespread deprivation,
"Poor public transport and limited connectivity hinder our economic development,
"Housing here is more affordable than cities, but the county has seen an 84pc increase in the last number of years - people are struggling in this other Mayo."
In January, the REA reported that the average house price in Mayo had increased by 25pc in just 12 months, with house prices in western counties rising at twice the rate of the east coast over the same period.
Cllr Barret continued: "All the while we are told by the EU that we are an area in transition - that means we are lagging behind in EU speak."
In 2020, the West and North-Western regions of Ireland were reclassified from 'developed regions' to 'regions in transition'.
This move raised concerns that without targeted infrastructure investment, the areas would continue to fall behind economically, deepening the regional divide in Ireland.
"The word here today is demand," said Cllr Barrett as he emphasised that action is urgently needed for the county's smaller towns and rural communities.
"We'd better get our act together in this other Mayo because it's suffering, we have to demand more input from the Government," he added, highlighting that while the Economic Development Plan outlines some solutions, the council needs significant Government investment to make progress.
"Our Government, and successive governments, have negatively discriminated in this county for the past 40, 50, 60 years," he said, pointing to a long history of underinvestment.
"We need to see the positive discrimination that is being talked about. We need to fast-track our infrastructure, our roads, our railways, but it won't happen when the Government doesn't positively discriminate for us."
Positive discrimination calls for additional investment in the West and North-West to support their development and reduce regional inequality with the East Coast.
Cllr Barrett argued that positive discrimination should also ensure Mayo gains fairly from its own natural resources, rather than exporting energy to other regions, and he criticised the county's current energy policy for failing to do so.
"We have a policy of energy extraction in this county. We are powering the East Coast, powering the data centres,
"It's our biggest export by a county mile. We get bugger all out of it, and that's totally unacceptable."
At the September council meeting, Cllr Barrett called on Mayo County Council to push for regulations requiring private wire operators to contribute to local benefit funds, following the Government's Private Wires Policy Statement, which allows companies to build and operate their own electricity lines.
He warned that the policy could bring large companies to Mayo to exploit the county's wind resources and cheaper land compared to the East Coast.
Cllr Barrett's motion called for three actions: a review of Mayo's existing community benefit scheme, engagement with energy developers and the CRU to boost local contributions, and a strategic plan to respond to the new policy.
"This is important for Mayo going forward. To tap into our natural resources, so that the other Mayo gets the benefits out of it."
He concluded by calling for amendments to the draft EDP that hold the Government accountable, and secure positive discrimination to support Mayo's growth and development.
"We have to hold the Government to account for what they're not doing - If we don't demand, we're not going to get."
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.