The Greater Dubin Area: - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

The Greater Dubin Area: A core region of Ireland

Regional GeographySlide2

Why is the GDA a Core Region?

It is a focal point/nodal point of the main road and rail networks (with two sea ports and an international port)

It is the financial and administrative capital (with the seat of government).

Well-drained lowland area with fertile soils and sheltered harbours

High population density and in-migration

Attracts industry due to young, educated workforce.

It is a fast growing region.Slide3

Meath

, Kildare, Dublin &

WicklowSlide4
Slide5

Primary Economic Activities: Farming (fishing, forestry and mining)Secondary Economic Activities: Industry

Tertiary Economic Activities

: Tourism (transport)Slide6

Physical characteristics

Climate:

The Cool Temperate Oceanic climate dominates Ireland. In this eastern region it brings the following conditions:

Rainfall: approx. 750mm per year (higher in the Wicklow mountains=relief rain)

Temperatures: 5 – 15 ◦C on average.

Relief:

The land of this region is mostly low lying and gently sloping especially throughout much of Meath, Kildare and Dublin. However, the Dublin/Wicklow mountains hinder development further south in these counties.

Drainage

:

The

Liffey

dominates much of Dublin and Kildare with other rivers in the region including the Boyne, Nanny,

Blackwater

and

Dargle

.Slide7

Drainage:The Liffey dominates much of Dublin and Kildare with other rivers in the region including the Boyne, Nanny, Blackwater and

Dargle

.

Soils:

The GDA is mostly covered in a fertile layer of Brown Earth Soils. This soil is mixed with glacial boulder clay dropped thousands of years ago and irrigated by the rivers of the region. Also these rivers provide rich alluvium each year making the area ideal for agriculture.

Peaty soil is found in the mountainous areas.Slide8
Slide9

Primary Economic Activities

Agriculture

Forestry

FishingSlide10

Primary Economic Activities

Agriculture

The climate and the soil of this region helps agriculture in this region. The low rainfall amount (750mm), rare frosts and the gently sloping landscape (covered in brown earth soils and loam soils) sees ideal conditions for profitable farming.

Cereals are grown in Meath and Kildare with immigrant workers needed for the barley and maize crops. Wheat is also produced in these counties. Slide11

Agriculture in the GDA is intensive. This means that crops are grown quickly and efficiently for the large local market of the region. Horticulture and tillage farming are the main types of farming and are profitable as the produce is locally transported and sold.

The

north of County Dublin is the location of over half of all green houses in Ireland. Here fruit and vegetables are grown. Cabbages, tomatoes and onions are some of the main produces of this region. Slide12

Cattle farming takes place in most of County Meath. In fact many farmers in the West of Ireland send their cattle to this region for fattening prior to selling them on the market.Kildare specialises in the bloodstock industry (horses) with the Curragh nearby. In County Wicklow sheep rearing is practiced on the sloping low hills of the Wicklow Mountains as soil cover is thinner and unsuitable to crops.

The greatest challenge facing agriculture in this region is the growth of Dublin city and all the main towns of this region. The demand for land and crops conflict each other

.Slide13

Forestry

Wicklow has more land under forestry than Kildare, Meath and Dublin combined. This is because this county is home to the Wicklow mountains which have thin, acidic soils unsuitable for most crops and farming practices.

Instead the land is used to grow trees. The north-facing slopes are solely used for tree growth as these slopes are colder, wetter and farming is extremely difficult on the steep slopes.Slide14

Fishing

Howth

in North County Dublin is home to the fishing industry in this core region. This fishing port and town ranks at number three in Ireland for fish landed and for the employment of people in fish processing.

Dublin Bay Prawns are one of Irelands premier shellfish exports. 40% of all exports from Ireland in 2005 were prawns from this region. Oysters and shrimps are also caught and exported.Slide15

Secondary

Economic Activities

IndustrySlide16

Secondary Economic Activities:

Industry

The GDA has many advantages for attracting industries:

Transport Network

Port

Raw materials

Population

Education

Standards of living

Service centre

Introduction: Reasons favouring industry in the GDASlide17

Manufacturing is the main type of industry in this region. Due to the strong agriculture base in these counties there is a wide variety of food processing, clothing and textiles and electronics. Dublin county makes up 32% of employment in manufacturing alone. The main companies in this region are:

Dell Computers in

Cherrywood

, Dublin. Despite the downturn in the economy over 1000 people are still employed in this location. They are responsible for making, servicing and

tele

-sales computers and other machinery. Slide18

Other IT companies include Hewlett Packard and Intel in Leixlip in Kildare and Skillsoft Games in the Tallaght industrial

centre

. In fact the GDA is now home to some of the worlds leading IT companies such as Google,

,

Paypal

and

Ebay

. Slide19

Apart from IT, food processing is an important part of the secondary activities in this core region. Cadburys chocolate and biscuits is the leading producer of confectionary in Ireland. Tayto in Ashbourne

, Co. Meath own several well-known brands (Hunky Dory’s

etc

) and Jacobs recently closed its plant in

Tallaght

.

Finally, the newspaper industry has mostly moved from the city centre to a new state-of-the-art centre in City West in Dublin. This is home to the leading three newspapers including the Irish Times and the Independent.Slide20
Slide21

Tertiary

Economic Activities

Transport

Touris

mSlide22
Slide23

Transport links in the GDA have been invested in and improved in recent years due to the growth of this region as the Core region of Ireland.In Dublin the DART rail system links the north and south side of the eastern coastline running from

Greystones

in Wicklow to Rush and Lusk in North Dublin.

The

M50

has been widened and extended to loop around the west of the capital and links the port tunnel in north Dublin to the southern port of Dun Laoghaire and (via the N11) to

Rosslare

in Wexford. In addition the M50 links rural motorways such as the M8 to Galway, M5 to Cork and also linking Sligo, Limerick, Waterford and the North via the M1.

Transport

IntroSlide24

The Dublin Bus service has been improved with quality bus corridors and lanes throughout the city.The LUAS

(green and red lines) will soon link the east and west of Dublin. This system connects suburban villages within Dublin

.

Dublin Airport

recently opened Terminal Two (T2) to enable the greater volume of tourists visiting Ireland each year

.

The

Grand Canal

and Royal Canal are navigable links between Dublin and neighbouring counties. Though not as widely used for industrial purposes, they are used for recreational activities in recent times.

Finally,

Dublin port

and Dun Laoghaire ports are responsible for the majority of RO-RO freight in and out of the country.Slide25

Tourism in the GDASlide26

There is a wide variety of tourist attractions in this core region. Attractions range from sport to music, culture and history to fashion. While these attractions are spread throughout the region it must be noted that the majority are located in the county of Dublin.

The largest shopping centres are found in Dublin and Kildare. In the capital shopping centres tend to be located on or near the M50. These include

Liffey

Valley,

Dundrum

and

Blanchardstown

in Dublin and Kildare Retail Park (village) outside of Naas in Kildare.Slide27

Historically this region shows evidence from the burial site of Newgrange in Co. Meath (c.5000 years old) to the Easter Rising museum in Kilmainham jail to the public museum in Wicklow Gaol. Also buildings like the GPO, Four Courts, Trinity College and Custom House Quay (Dublin) tell of the history of the region.

Sporting

wise this core region boasts golf clubs like the K-Club in Kildare (host to the

Rydar

Cup in 2006) and

Portmarnock

Golf Club (host to the Irish Open).

Croke

Park in North Dublin is the home of the GAA and huge source of tourism to the capital as it also includes a convention centre and sporting museum. Just south of the river is the Aviva Stadium (the base of the IRFU and FAI) which hosted the 2011 Europa Cup Final.

The recently completed National Aquatics Centre in west Dublin is another example of a sporting venue of touristic interest.Slide28

While sport or history might not appeal to all tourists, the landscape of this region might. Wicklow boasts the moutains with peaks like the Sugar Loaf. These mountains include numerous hiking trails of all difficulties. Nearby the scenic site of Glendalough is found with St. Kevins

round tower. This small area includes a hotel, hostel, visitor centre and marked walkways. Also in Wicklow you can find the

Powerscourt

waterfall and gardens with cafes and visitor centres in the area.

In Meath the historic battle site of the Boyne river is a tourist attraction with river walks and tours available.

Finally, the GDA region also includes numerous sites of cultural attraction from festivals like

Slane

Castle (Meath), The O2 arena (Dublin),

Bloomsday

festival, The Jameson Factory tours, Temple Bar and the Smithfield horse sales.Slide29

Conclusion

The Greater Dublin Area

IS

the Core Economic Region of Ireland.

It

IS

an example of a developed region full of positives when you discuss:

Primary Activities: Agriculture, Fishing and Forestry

Secondary Activities: Industry

Tertiary Activities: Transport and Tourism