Donegal County Board Strategic Plan, 2009-2014 (pdf) - Croke Park

Unlike most of modern Ireland, Donegal remains a largely rural County. Only one-person-in-four lives in a
settlement of 1,500 people or more whereas nationally six-people-in-every-ten fall into that category. Issues of
isolation, remoteness and communication difficulties therefore remain central to life in the County. Donegal
County Council for example has put in place a radical and pioneering decentralisation initiative to combat
precisely these issues of distance within the County.
Several parts of the County accommodate substantial holiday and second home populations. These are
typically “in” but not “of” Donegal and can bring in their wake significant integration and community
development concerns.
Donegal’s population is distributed across the County as follows:
DONEGAL’S POPULATION DISTRIBUTION
4% 1%
3%
2%
2%
12%
1%
Ballybofey/Stranorlar
Ballyshannon
Buncrana
Bundoran
75%
Donegal
Letterkenny
Lifford
Rural
Improved economic times have underpinned Donegal’s recent population growth. However relative to the rest
of Ireland the County still has work to do, the most recent figures showing disposable incomes in Donegal to be
some 16% below the national average. Local labour force participation rates are, at 57.2 some five percentage
points below the national average of 62.5. Put simply, Donegal has not enjoyed the full economic prosperity
that has recently flowed across much of Ireland.
The County’s economic activity can be summarised as follows:
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