The news is good, and the news is bad. The national economy is doing well, the regional economy, as exemplified in the northwest, is doing awful.

Total population is on the upswing. There are more people living in the Twenty-six County Republic of Ireland than at any time since 1871.

According to the Central Statistics Office, Ireland's population in April of this year was 4.04 million, an increase of 1.6% on the figure for the same month last year. The rise was due to the fact that births outnumbered deaths in Ireland, and that immigration continued to exceed outward migration. The CSO also said around one-third of immigrants were returning Irish nationals, while emigration was its lowest level since estimates began in 1987.

There were 8 million people living in all Thirty-two counties of Ireland before the artificially created famine genocide of the 1840s. By 1960 the numbers fell to 2.8 million in the Republic. Since then there has been a steady increase, accelerated in 1991 by the booming Celtic Tiger economy.

In common with the rest of the western economies, the Celtic Tiger lost some of its pace in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Now, however, predictions are that it is gaining momentum. The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has released a forecast that the Irish economy will grow by almost 5pc this year and will show an even stronger performance in 2005. This would add 20bn to the value of national income over the two years, putting Ireland among the top five EU states for income per head. It will also generate around 75,000 jobs and keep government finances in surplus.

That is the good news.

Unfortunately for the northwest, in particular Donegal, there has been a marked decline in employment, some 5,000 jobs having been lost in recent years, with the threat of greater losses to come following the announced closure by Fruit of the Loom of all its textile plants in both County Donegal and County Derry, which plants will be relocated to Morocco.

A company spokesperson said that the World Trade Organisation's decision to remove quotas on imported products from the Far East was a factor contributing to the relocation.

Combined with a slide in population over many, many years, this is the worst news to hit Donegal at a time when there is an upturn in the national economy. The county's voice counts for little unless backed by resolute action at the local level, something that has been lacking due to partisan political faction fighting. Perhaps a point has been reached when a show of political unity and determination can sway national authorities into paying attention to the needs of Donegal, the most pressing being jobs to replace those already lost, and opportunities to create new ones.

There are brains aplenty in Donegal itself, and the muscle to go with them. The national economy can grow even stronger if they are given the chance to contribute. They deserve that chance.

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