Secondary Economic Activities

Junior Certificate Geography Notes on Secondary Economic Activities for the Irish Second Level Education Curriculum

1. Secondary

 Secondary economic activity usually takes place in factories or workshops.
 Some factories may only take raw materials and make them into semi-
finished products.
 Other factories may only take semi-finished products and make them into
finished products.
 Secondary economic activity may be seen as a system.
 Each system has Inputs, Processes, and Outputs.

• Inputs – These are the things that we need to put in at the
start.
• Processes – These are the things we do to the Inputs to turn
them into semi-finished or finished products.
• Outputs – These are the things we have at the end.

Where should I build my Factory?

• In reality, there are lots of different factors that influence
where factories are built. These include;

1. Resource materials
2. Markets
3. Transport facilities
4. Labour
5. Services
6. Capital
7. Government/EU Policy
8. Preference of the business person or the local community.

Different Types of Industry

• Heavy Industry – In these types of industries the resource
materials and the products being made are big and heavy.
Iron and steel making is an example of a heavy industry.

2. • Light Industry – In these types of industries the products
being made are small and light. Electronic products and
healthcare products are examples.
• Multi-national Corporations (MNC’s) – These types of
companies make their products in many different countries.
Examples include Coca Cola, Microsoft and Nike.

Industrial Location – Change over time
• As time goes by some industries may need to change their
location.
• This may be because they have changed their production
methods and need new services and infrastructure.
• For example, in the past most industries needed to be close
to coal mines because coal was the main source of power.

Footloose Industries
These are industries that are not tied to a
particular area. It can be set up in many different
places. Most modern industries are footloose
because-
 They use electricity for power (Electricity is
available everywhere)
 They are usually light industries
 Good roads now allow goods to be moved easily
 Most people have cars to drive to work

The British Iron & Steel Industry

3. • In the late 1700’s Britain began to develop its Iron and Steel
industry.
• Britain had large amounts of coal and iron ore. These were the raw
materials used to make iron and steel.
• All of the steel mills were built beside the coal mines, because coal
is a bulky, heavy raw material. It was expensive and time
consuming to transport it.
• Britain was the leading country of the industrial revolution, mainly
because of all the coal and iron ore it had.
• It used the steel to make railway tracks, trains, engines, ships,
factories, machines, and weapons.
• All of these things helped Britain to become the most powerful
country in the world.
• The Iron and Steel Industry was a very important part of the
British economy until the middle of the 20
th
century. There were
thousands of people employed in the coal mines and the steel mills.
• However, in the last 50 years the steel industry in Britain has
almost disappeared. Nearly all of the coal mines and the steel mills
have been closed down.
Decline of the Coal Industry

4. • The coal mining industry peaked in 1913 when there were
over 2500 coal mines in Britain. In 1913 the railways
moved over 226 million tons of coal.
• In 1947 there were still over 450 deep mines in operation.
Mines continued to close in the 1960’s as the easily
accessible coal was mined out.
• The availability of cheap oil and North Sea Gas in the 60’s
and 70’ reduced demand for coal.
• By the end of 1995 there were less than 30 mines, only 2
being deep coal mines, left in Britain.

Women in the workforce in Ireland
Until the 1970’s most Irish women worked in traditional roles as
wives and mothers.
The situation changed dramatically over the past 40 years and
many women now work outside the home.
Many women are choosing to have careers instead of working in
the home.
• Women in the workforce in Ireland
There are many reasons why things changed;
1. From the late 1960’s everyone in Ireland had free
secondary education. Boys and girls now had equal

5. access & opportunities to get qualifications and
participate in the workforce.
2. Gender equality laws have given women equal status
with men in the workforce.
3. The increase in the cost of living has meant that in
many cases both parents now have to work to pay for the
house, the car etc.