The Mid-West is a strategic planning area within the Southern Region in Ireland. It is a NUTS Level III statistical region of Ireland (coded IE051). It consists of the

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

and

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

, and the city and county of

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

Limerick City Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 c ...

is the economic centre of the region. It spans 10,511 km², 14.95% of the total area of the state and as of the

2016 census Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17 *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * ''Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film dir ...

, it had a 2016 population of 473,269.

Area

The constituent local authorities are the councils of the counties of

and

and the city and county of

, which each send representatives to the

Southern Regional Assembly The Southern Region has been a region in Ireland since 1 January 2015. It is a NUTS Level II statistical region of Ireland (coded IE05). NUTS 2 Regions may be classified as ''less developed regions'', ''transition regions'', or ''more de ...

, forming the Mid-West Strategic Planning Area Committee. The area of the Mid-West was expanded in 2018 as part of an EU-wide revision to NUTS areas, by the inclusion of the whole of

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

. This reflected the merger of

North Tipperary North Tipperary ( ga, Tiobraid Árann Thuaidh) was a county in Ireland. It was part of the Mid-West Region and was also located in the province of Munster. It was named after the town of Tipperary and consisted of 48% of the land area of the t ...

and

South Tipperary South Tipperary ( ga, Tiobraid Árann Theas) was a county in Ireland. It was part of the South-East Region and was also located in the province of Munster. It was named after the town of Tipperary and consisted of 52% of the land area of the t ...

as local government areas in 2014. Prior to 2018, South Tipperary was located in the South-East.

Former Regional Authority

Prior to 2014, the area was a region was administered by the Mid-West Regional Authority, which consisted of 26 elected representatives from the region's councils. These representatives met once a month. The councils were: *

Clare County Council Clare County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae an Chláir) is the authority responsible for local government in County Clare, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and ...

(7) *

Limerick City Council Limerick City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Luimnigh) was the authority responsible for local government in the city of Limerick in Ireland. The council had 17 elected members. The head of the council had the title of Mayor. Limerick City ...

(6) *

Limerick County Council Limerick County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Luimnigh) was the authority responsible for local government in County Limerick, Ireland. As a county council, it was governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council had 28 elected members. ...

(7) *

North Tipperary County Council North Tipperary County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Thiobraid Árann Thuaidh) was the authority responsible for local government in the county of North Tipperary, Ireland. The council had 21 elected members. The head of the council had the ti ...

(6) The Regional Authorities were dissolved in 2014 and were replaced by Regional Assemblies.

Shannon Development Shannon Development (legally the ''Shannon Free Airport Development Company Limited'' formerly known as SFADCO) was an important regional development body for the Shannon Region of Ireland. Its area in the lower River Shannon basin comprised al ...

was a development body for the

Shannon Region Shannon Development (legally the ''Shannon Free Airport Development Company Limited'' formerly known as SFADCO) was an important regional development body for the Shannon Region of Ireland. Its area in the lower River Shannon basin comprised al ...

of the lower

River Shannon The River Shannon ( ga, Abhainn na Sionainne, ', '), at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of the island of Ireland. The Shan ...

, which encompassed the entire Mid-West Region together with North

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...

(in the South-West Region) and South

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

(in the Midland Region). It too was dissolved in 2014.

Demographics

The Mid-West has a population of 473,269 which constitutes about 9.94% of Ireland's total population. The population density of the region is 45.02 persons/km².

is the largest urban area in the region with a population of 94,192 people within the larger urban area including the city suburbs.

Economy

The economy of the region is based mainly around the greater

/ Shannon corridor. The

Shannon Free Zone The Shannon Free Zone is a , international business park adjacent to Shannon Airport, County Clare, in Ireland. It is 18 km from Ennis and 20 km from Limerick. It was established in 1959, as the world's first "modern" free-trade zone ...

Shannon Airport Shannon Airport ( ga, Aerfort na Sionainne) is an international airport located in County Clare in the Republic of Ireland. It is adjacent to the Shannon Estuary and lies halfway between Ennis and Limerick. The airport is the third busiest ai ...

, Shannon Estuary Ports, National Technology Park Limerick and major educational institutions such as the

University of Limerick The University of Limerick (UL) ( ga, Ollscoil Luimnigh) is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it beca ...

and

Limerick Institute of Technology The Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT; ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Luimnigh) was an institute of technology, located in Limerick, Ireland. The institute had five campuses that were located in Limerick, Thurles, Clonmel, as well as a r ...

are major drivers of the regional economy with growth prospects in Biotechnology and medical technology, ICT, aerospace, tourism agribusiness and logistics.Irish Region Office - Regions of Ireland: Mid-West Region
The Dublin/Limerick corridor and the western corridor linking Galway/Ennis/Limerick/Cork is of strategic importance to the region. According to CSO figures for 2014, the region has a GDP of €12.116 bn and a GDP per capita of €31,792. Eurostat figures for 2012, the region has GDP of €11.468 bn and a GDP per capita of €30,300 The 2016 unemployment rate is one of the lowest in Ireland at 6% (the same as that of Dublin). . The workforce in the region was 160,400 in 2003 which was an employment rate of 96.7% of which 61.8% were employed in services, 29.8% in Industry and 8.3% employed in agriculture. Agriculture remains a major part of the Mid-West economy. The Clare Marts in

Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,27 ...

is a major trading post of livestock nationally. The plains of East

are part of Ireland's

Golden Vale The Golden Vale () is an area of rolling pastureland in the civil province of Munster, southwestern Ireland. Covering parts of three counties, Limerick, Tipperary and Cork, it is the best land in Ireland for dairy farming. Historically it ...

that stretch from

City into

According to the CSO, the mid-west in 2016 had the lowest value of land sold in Ireland of €16.5 million. Also, the Mid-West region had the lowest volume of land in Ireland of 2,898 acres which could in turn reduce income coming into this region.

Transport

is the only airport in the region with a wide range of flights available to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, continental

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and transatlantic flights to the United States. The M7 is a high quality motorway connecting

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and

. The N18/ M18 including the

Limerick Tunnel The Limerick Tunnel () is a , twin bore road tunnel underneath the River Shannon on the outskirts of Limerick city. The tunnel forms part of the N18 Limerick Southern Ring Road. The tunnel is tolled. Construction Construction was carried out b ...

provides a complete bypass of

and improved access to Shannon,

and

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

. The N/M20 road/motorway provides access to Cork and Kerry.

Urban areas

A list of the largest urban areas and regionally important towns with a population of 1,000 or more in the Mid-West Region. County capitals are shown in bold.

References

{{coord missing, Ireland NUTS statistical regions of the Republic of Ireland