Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teach as an deis seo chun labhairt faoi Ár dTodhchaí Thuaithe and the consultation process that is coming to an end in relation to the development of Our Rural Future, the new national development policy. I will provide the House with an update on what we have delivered under the policy over the past five years but I also want to hear, as we finalise the consultation process on the new Our Rural Future, ideas and thoughts. I thank all who have already submitted to the process. It is important to state at the outset that my approach and the approach of this Government is founded on a deep commitment to and ambition for rural Ireland. Our vision for rural Ireland clearly puts thriving, vibrant and inclusive rural communities at the very heart of our national development. Without sustained support and investment in our rural areas, we cannot deliver on the economic, social, cultural and environmental development that will underpin the quality of life of all our citizens. As such, rural development remains a key priority for this Government and it is imperative that we ensure that our towns, villages and more remote rural communities are able to maximise their potential now and into the future. In bringing this commitment to life, Our Rural Future represented a milestone when it was published in 2021. It set out a whole-of-government approach to rural development that has provided significant investment and supports, strengthened local economies and improved the lives of many people in rural communities across Ireland. By drawing together supports and initiatives from across Government, a comprehensive national framework was put in place to deliver clear and tangible benefits to our rural communities over the lifetime of the first Our Rural Future policy. One of the most high-profile commitments contained in the policy was the delivery of the national broadband plan, which was designed to ensure that rural Ireland would benefit from rapidly evolving developments in digital connectivity. Delivered by the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport alongside National Broadband Ireland, the investment in our broadband infrastructure represents one of the most ambitious and forward-thinking initiatives ever undertaken by the State. I am glad to say that we are delivering on this level of ambition and investment. Based on almost €3 billion of public funds, the plan is delivering high-speed broadband to people all across the country, with an average of 4,500 premises per month being connected during 2025. The main infrastructure build is on schedule to be completed at the end of this year on time and under budget. I have no doubt that this kind of investment is making a real difference in the day to day lives of people in rural Ireland. Similarly, Our Rural Future recognised the importance of issues such as rural transport. More than €700 million has been allocated in 2026 for maintenance and improvements to regional and local roads, while the Connecting Ireland rural mobility plan has delivered more than 180 new or enhanced services since its launch in 2022, substantially increasing passenger journeys and access to rural bus services. Such investment is improving connectivity between towns and villages, supporting access to employment, education and healthcare - issues that are absolutely central to quality of life in rural Ireland. Rural enterprise and support for the development of the rural economy was a further central plank of our approach over the past five years. With this in mind, the policy provided the framework for the delivery of targeted growth and support for regional employment and enterprise growth. Initiatives such as the roll-out of the regional enterprise plans model, the work of LEADER groups in supporting local business, and targeted support from local enterprise offices and enterprise agencies, have collectively supported rural businesses to grow, innovate and attract investment. In addition, there have been major policy initiatives developed over the lifetime of Our Rural Future 2021-2025, including revisions to the national planning framework and national development plan; the launch of Food Vision 2030, which aims to make Ireland a world leader in sustainable food systems; and the national tourism policy statement, which will work to ensure that every region in Ireland can continue to benefit from growth in tourism. My own Department has also been at the forefront in ensuring that a robust policy framework underpins our ambition and our investment. I thank all of the officials in my Department for their work and commitment to this mission. For example, we have delivered the first ever national outdoor recreation strategy which allowed us to fully realise the potential that is inherent in the outdoor recreation sector. Expenditure in the economy linked to outdoor recreation amounted to €2.2 billion in 2024. I am determined to ensure that rural areas can continue to derive the economic, social, health and environmental benefits that will arise from our continued investment in this vital sector. I was delighted to be able to launch the outdoor recreational plans for counties Sligo and Mayo over the past weekend. In 2022, my Department, in conjunction with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, launched the town centre first policy. The town centre first approach is now being implemented in rural towns and villages all across the country, backed up by significant levels of investment from across Government. Our ambitious national islands policy, Our Living Islands, was also launched under the umbrella of Our Rural Future. I am glad to say that implementation of the actions within that policy is now being progressed. These policy frameworks clearly demonstrate our commitment to rural Ireland, and our desire to support the narrative surrounding rural areas as centres of opportunity, growth and potential. We have continued to prioritise rural investment in the new programme for Government, and in the specific pledge to build on the momentum achieved under Our Rural Future by publishing and implementing the next iteration of the policy from 2026. While it is vital that these new policy frameworks are in place, it remains crucial that we in government continue to back up our policies with sustained and targeted investment. Within my own Department, for example, the rural development investment programme, which includes schemes such as the rural regeneration and development fund, the town and village renewal scheme, the outdoor recreation investment scheme, CLÁR, and LEADER, has delivered unprecedented levels of investment in recent years, which I will come back to in more detail shortly. What is important now is that we build on what we have delivered and achieved under the first Our Rural Future policy. That is why I have prioritised the development of the new Our Rural Future policy for the period 2026 to 2031. The new policy will be based on a number of central principles that reflect our experience over recent years and also take into account best international practice. The new policy will take a people-centred approach to rural development, placing people who live in rural Ireland at the very centre of our policy development and implementation. It will take a place-based approach that recognises that not all rural areas are the same. It will clearly recognise the interdependence of our urban and rural areas. It is not a matter of rural development or urban development. Both can live together and our approach sees support for rural areas as central to national well-being. The new policy will also continue our focus on a whole-of-government approach. An integrated approach across all levels of government is essential to realising our ambition. The development of the new policy has been firmly rooted in consultation. Only by talking to and, more importantly, listening to people in rural Ireland can we fully understand what needs to be done, how to do it and when it should be done. With this in mind, an extensive national stakeholder and public consultation process has been in place for a year now. It was based on three linked stages. First, an online survey sought responses to more than 40 questions covering the wide range of opportunities and challenges that would face rural communities and economies over the next five years. Second, informed by the survey results, a series of eight public and stakeholder events, including one trí Ghaeilge, were held around the country and online to discuss in more depth issues such as the rural economy, balanced regional development, and the revitalisation of rural places. Finally, an open, public written consultation was held to seek the views of stakeholders and citizens on a draft policy paper that outlined the key areas of focus for the new policy that have emerged from the earlier engagements. More than 270 responses were received to this call, bringing the total number of participants in the consultation process to well over 2,000. Further bilateral engagements have taken place with key stakeholder organisations. My officials and I have met sporting organisations, including the GAA demographics committee, rural development groups, local authorities, regional assemblies and many others to ensure the widest range of inputs into the policy-making process. It was also vital to ensure that the voices of young people were included in the consultation process. With this in mind, the 2025 edition of the Rural Youth Assembly, itself an initiative born out of the first Our Rural Future policy, was focused on exploring the priorities of those growing up in rural Ireland. It was important that we included some objective analysis of the current rural policy environment. The OECD was commissioned to undertake a review of the Irish context and, over the course of a number of months, it engaged with more than 500 rural stakeholders and Government officials. That review was published in February of this year and has played an important part in informing the new policy. In it, the OECD acknowledges the substantial progress made in Ireland, both under Our Rural Future and more broadly since the establishment of my Department. Ireland is recognised as being unique among OECD countries in its whole-of-government approach to rural development and for the high levels of awareness and visibility given to rural needs across Departments. The review also provided a series of recommendations and challenges for consideration, notably on supporting rural enterprise, service delivery and improving the effectiveness and use of rural intelligence and data. I firmly believe that the extensive time and effort, including today's discussions, that have been invested in the consultation process will ensure a more effective and targeted policy for 2026 to 2031. So far, throughout our engagements, a number of clear issues have been identified as being of primary concern to people living and working in rural Ireland. These include some of the key strategic priorities that underpin rural development, such as increasing the availability and affordability of rural housing and the essential infrastructure and services to support population growth in rural towns and villages. We have also heard loud and clear the need to continue to support rural businesses and strengthen the rural economy, particularly tourism, which came through as having rich potential for growth. There were also strong inputs at all stages of the consultation on the need to build strong, resilient and empowered rural communities while also protecting and sustaining our unique natural environment. Informed by the results of the consultations and the OECD's review, the new Our Rural Future will be based around five policy pillars, focusing on rural places, rural people, rural services, the rural economy and the rural environment. In addition to the policy setting out the key priorities in each pillar, a series of detailed actions is being developed, which will be outlined in an accompanying action plan covering the initial period until the end of 2028. This action plan, as I have said many times, will be a whole-of-government approach and I wish to place on record my sincere thanks to my Government colleagues who have already come forward with impactful and ambitious proposals for inclusion. I once again use this opportunity to challenge them to be more ambitious in their proposals. A second action plan will follow to cover the remainder of the policy from 2029 to 2031, which will allow for the policy to be responsive to any emerging needs over that time. Of course, the funding and supports delivered by my own Department will have a critical role to play in the implementation of the new Our Rural Future. These programmes are designed to support the delivery of projects in communities right across rural Ireland that will revitalise our rural towns and villages. Investment will help to provide the necessary facilities and infrastructure in communities to assist in attracting people to live, work and invest in rural areas while aiming to ensure that those rural communities can prosper in the years ahead. In budget 2026, I secured a €611 million allocation for my Department. This is the highest ever budget allocation for our Department, which demonstrates the Government's continuing commitment to investing in rural towns, villages and communities. Within this investment, the rural development investment programme is continuing to provide an unprecedented level of funding for rural Ireland. Indeed, there are a number of funding schemes currently open for applications designed to directly support our rural communities. In February, I launched a new call for category 1 applications under the rural regeneration and development fund, RRDF. This fund supports ambitious large-scale projects designed to regenerate rural areas and has allocated total funding of €440 million to 164 major strategic capital projects since 2020. Only in the last fortnight, I was delighted to be joined by An Taoiseach to officially open the new Campas Íosagáin Digital Hub i mBaile Bhuirne, Contae Chorcaí. With investment of over €3.4 million from the RRDF, we will deliver a state-of-the-art enterprise development, training and research facility and new gTeic hub by restoring the former derelict site of Coláiste Íosagáin. Last week, I opened the heritage-led restoration of Market House and Market Square in Portarlington in County Laois. Building on the community-owned Portarlington regeneration strategy, this project will have a transformational impact on the town and bring a strategically placed and historically important building back into use for local people and for local organisations. Since 2020, over 1,000 projects have been supported by funding allocations of €135 million under my Department’s town and village renewal scheme. These projects are significant local investments that are rejuvenating town centres, driving economic growth and town footfall, combating dereliction and vacancy, and boosting the tourism and heritage potential of our rural areas. I was delighted last Thursday to open the restored Duncannon Fort in Wexford, which was supported by €500,000 in town and village renewal scheme funding. This project involved the renovation of three buildings to provide new public amenities, community buildings and a reception area. This stunning site in an historic location will help deliver on its tourism potential for Wexford and bring tangible benefits to the local community. Likewise, over 1,500 projects have been allocated total funding of €65 million under the CLÁR programme since 2020. The 2026 edition of CLÁR opened for applications in March, alongside the publication of the review of CLÁR areas committed to in the programme for Government. That review has resulted in 110 new electoral divisions being designated as eligible for CLÁR funding and brings the total population in areas covered by CLÁR to over 1 million people for the first time. Earlier this year, I announced an increased allocation of €17.5 million under the local improvement scheme, LIS, to help meet the high level of demand for works on private roads across the country. The €150 million allocated under the LIS since 2020 has funded work on over 3,000 road projects, benefiting over 16,000 people. I have already mentioned our commitment to supporting rural areas as world-class destinations for outdoor recreation. This ambition has been backed up by an investment of over €110 million since 2020 to develop outdoor recreational amenities. I am happy to confirm that I intend to open a new round of funding under this scheme in the coming weeks. The longest running component of the rural development investment programme is the LEADER programme. Its bottom-up approach to rural development was introduced by Commissioner Ray MacSharry and has now been operating successfully in rural Ireland for over 35 years. I am absolutely sure that everyone in the House will be aware of the vital supports delivered by their local LEADER groups over that time. The LEADER programme forms part of a wider package of EU co-funded supports contained in the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP. Negotiations in relation to the development of a new multi-annual financial framework, MFF, which will include continued rural development investment, are well under way at EU level. It is a priority for this Government that these negotiations see the continuation of a well-defined and fully funded suite of supports for the CAP from 2028. Our farming community remains at the heart of rural Ireland and we must continue to support the development and viability of the sector in producing world-class food and delivering important environmental benefits. Within this context, I am also prioritising the ongoing funding of the LEADER programme and will continue to advocate strongly at home and at EU level for increased funding for the next round post 2028. I acknowledge the work of the Minister, Deputy Martin Heydon, and the Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne, in this process. The new Our Rural Future policy will commit to continued investment under the rural development investment programme. We are also listening to our delivery partners and to local communities to ensure that we make improvements to the efficiency and effectiveness of these schemes moving forward. In addition to the rural development investment programme, a range of other investment programmes are being administered by my Department that will continue to expand and deliver in the coming years and will directly benefit rural areas. A new round of funding with €25 million under the community centre investment fund, CCIF, focusing on the refurbishment of community centres at the heart of lives in all of our communities, was opened on 26 March. This will build on the €110 million already allocated to date, ensuring that our community centres are fit for purpose for years to come. I acknowledge the work of the Compass community centre in Portlaoise, which I visited last week and which received funding under this programme. I was struck by the range of local groups making use of the centre, and I am committed to ensuring that such local groups around the country have the modern and safe facilities that they need. Our rural communities are also being directly supported by programmes such as the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, and the community services programme, CSP. Under budget 2026, I was happy to secure increased funding of €4 million for the community services programme, which brings its annual allocation to €59.4 million. Over 400 community organisations now benefit from the increased funding I announced, alongside my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Jerry Buttimer, at the end of last year. We have now opened a new call for applications to this scheme. Budget 2026 also saw funding of €74 million for SICAP and similar social inclusion supports and the inclusion of a new funding stream of €5 million for an urban programme to target particular centres of disadvantage. These developments are helping us to ensure that social inclusion and equality continue to be at the core of the approach to supporting rural communities. One of the major achievements under the first Our Rural Future was the substantial investment in remote working, particularly the establishment of the connected hubs network. Having achieved the target of 400 hubs on connectedhubs.ie, and to further leverage the benefits of hub working, we will continue to develop and expand that network. Táimid ag leanúint freisin lenár n-infheistíocht sna ceantair Ghaeltachta agus inár n-oileáin amach ón gcósta. Mar shampla, tá obair ar siúl anois ar fhorbairt cé nua €35.7 milliún ar Inis Oírr. Tá an tionscadal seo ar cheann de na príomhghealltanais a rinneadh faoin phlean forbartha náisiúnta, PFN, agus is í an infheistíocht is mó a rinne mo Roinn féin riamh. Trí infheistíocht straitéiseach, nuálaíocht, agus comhpháirtíochtaí áitiúla sna seacht gceantar Gaeltachta ar fud na tíre, leanfaidh Údarás na Gaeltachta lena n-obair le cinntiú go mbeidh fostaíocht agus deiseanna forbartha ar fáil i gceantair thuaithe imeallacha. I measc na n-infheistíochtaí PFN i dtionscadail Ghaeltachta, tá maoiniú á chur ar fáil i gcomhair Ionad Gaeilge nuálaíoch ar Shráid Fhearchair i mBaile Átha Cliath agus i gcomhair forbairt scoil samhraidh Ionad Oideachais agus Óige Indreabháin i nGaeltacht Chonamara. I eagerly anticipate the new Our Rural Future policy. There will be an expectation concerning the document and we will continue to try to deliver on the ambitions that come with that expectation. My officials are working intensively with Departments across the Government on the new policy, with a particular focus on meaningful and ambitious commitments in the first action plan, which will cover the period to 2028. The policy and the associated action plan are nearing completion. I will continue to work with colleagues to finalise outstanding issues in this regard before bringing a draft of the policy to Government ahead of the summer. I conclude by addressing the narrative that rural Ireland is declining or, worse still, dying. This evidence does not support that narrative, nor does the ambition of many of those living in, and working with, rural communities. Last week's publication by the Central Statistics Office, CSO, of the Urban and Rural Life in Ireland 2025 report shows that over one third of our population is living in a rural area, with the population of highly rural-remote areas increasing by 6.4% between 2016 and 2022. This growth is posing challenges in terms of housing, including in Gaeltacht areas, infrastructure and services, which we in government must address. Employment in rural areas is strong, incomes are rising and for many families, rural Ireland is providing a much better overall quality of life. These findings align with the analysis of the OECD, but I am not comfortable enough nor naive enough not to know there are significant variations within these statistics. There are areas facing particular challenges that we must recognise and act on. Ensuring the sustainability and attractiveness of all rural areas is my key priority, the key priority of the Government and will be the key priority for the development of our new Our Rural Future policy. I am very proud to be from rural Ireland and very proud to represent rural Ireland. Our rural areas must be and will always be at the centre of who we are as a country. While much has been delivered, my commitment is to ensure that we build on the last five years, continue to invest in our rural communities, continue to engage in our rural communities and continue to ensure a whole-of-government approach to deliver for rural Ireland. I have no doubt that this commitment is shared across the Chamber.

Sentiment score: 0.35

Gabhaim buíochas leis na Teachtaí go léir tráthnóna inniu. Cé nach bhfuilimid ar aon intinn ar gach rud, is léir nach bhfuil ach dea-rún ag gach duine anseo i leith thodhchaí níos dóchasaí a chruthú do cheantair agus do mhuintir thuaithe na hÉireann. Is ceart - agus tá sé soiléir - go bhfuil bród ag gach duine as a gceantair thuaithe, as ár n-oidhreacht thuaithe agus go háirithe as ár bpobal tuaithe. Is cuid lárnach iad dár ndúchas mar thír, agus tá ár bhforbairt náisiúnta amuigh anseo fite fuaite lenár bhforbairt thuaithe ansin. I thank every Deputy. While we may disagree on many of the items, there was passion and pride in the debate today. I join Deputy Michael Collins and Senator Margaret Murphy O'Mahony in paying tribute to the late Councillor Joe Carroll. There have been many tributes to him for his passion. Deputy Collins summed him up wonderfully. He was a joyful character. He brought passion to politics and to people. I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife, Sheila, and his family, on his very untimely passing. A number of key issues were raised around infrastructure and services. I will touch on some of them. Many people raised post offices. Through Our Rural Future, we have provided the funds to the Department of communications for rural post offices in particular to assist them. It is one of the challenges, as we invest in the national broadband scheme - which is rolling out ahead of schedule - that we are giving people more access to online services. That means we have to ensure that subsidies are available for services such as post offices. Many Deputies spoke about the withdrawal of post offices, Garda stations and banks, for instance. That is something that we need to look at to ensure that there are facilities within rural villages and towns to get that footfall. There has been a lot of talk about housing, particularly the proposal by Deputies Wall and Timmins around serviced sites in rural areas and rural communities. Deputy Martin Kenny raised a point about DEDs and the population of DEDs. It is something I will reflect on, combined with the proposals in relation to serviced sites in areas. The Minister, Deputy Browne, is committed to rural housing guidelines. Many of the issues that have been discussed across the House are shared in terms of people who need access to rural areas, families who want to return. Deputy Timmins made the comment about families wanting to come back into rural areas and it being held against them that they may have property in urban areas. I am committed to working with the Minister, Deputy Browne, on that. Deputy McGuinness called for targeted supports for the Gaeltacht and our islands. I have introduced that. I have introduced extra supports in terms of RRDF, town and village renewal and CLÁR, specifically for Gaeltacht areas, but also for islands. We would have been at the Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann AGM last week - it was postponed, unfortunately - to try to address the challenges that we face there. I also want to see skills, particularly on our islands, to ensure that we have the services on the islands. That is why we have worked with technology in relation to healthcare. I commend the work under way in the University of Galway around that space. It is about how we can bring remote healthcare to islands by using technology. There is some very good work there. Both Deputies McGuinness and Mac Lochlainn have spoken about rural fishing communities. I have asked Deputy Mac Lochlainn to provide me with the information in relation to the Faroe Islands. I certainly want to see how we can do in that. I will come back to the Deputies. A number of Deputies, including Deputy Conway-Walsh, raised seaweed harvesting. It is a traditional industry that we need to respect and regard. Many Deputies have raised challenges in relation to Rural Link and Local Link. Equally, we have to acknowledge the massive transformation that has been made on Local Link in the last number of years. We have seen that in Mayo, led by Sarah Togher and her fantastic board. There has been a transformation of the service. Yes, we need to continue to investment and a number of areas have been challenged around that. My colleague, Deputy Ryan O'Meara, raised community cafés and community services. That is something I will seek to support in the new Our Rural Future. The community café model is fantastic and it shows. Many Deputies have spoken today about volunteers. The point I always make is that parents, young parents in particular, get very busy doing the runs and being in ten places at the one time for the same training, but could you imagine if there were no trainers? Imagine there was no local committee to do the training. Imagine there was nobody to give the drama classes. Life would be a lot more complicated then if people had to entertain the kids themselves. That volunteer spirit is what keeps rural Ireland going. Deputy Roche and a number of other Deputies referred to what we call the bureaucracy burden that we unintentionally place on volunteers. That is something I am committed to addressing. We have made changes to CCIF. LEADER is one of the programmes that comes back a lot as having a major bureaucracy element to it, and it does because it is cofunded. We have to make sure that the form filling and the necessary information is not frightening people off. That is something we are committed to. A lot of issues were raised regarding businesses in rural areas. We face a major challenge. As we go online and become more online, we have to try to protect businesses and base businesses in rural areas. I am certainly open to ideas and proposals on how we can do that. If we can do that, while there is a generation who may never walk into a shop, we have to give them a reason to use and go to a town and a village, be it for schools, community events, sport or the activities I referred to earlier. That is why we invest in infrastructure. That is why we invest in community infrastructure in order to do that. I thank all the Deputies for their contributions, including the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. We have taken that on board and we will incorporate it into Our Rural Future. Equally, we all have a job to drive this debate on within our groups and parties, but also to actually deliver changes that support rural communities. That is something that we want to lead on. Many Deputies have referred to this. There is no need to divide our country. At a time of such division internationally, there is no need to divide this country between urban and rural. Urban areas need rural communities and vice versa. The west coast of Ireland is providing some leading healthcare, pharmaceutical and health technology. It is providing services and treatments around the world from rural brains and a rural sense of enterprise. It is a kind of enterprise or meitheal. I speak of this all over the country. Meitheal must be a Mayo thing. I am struck by the fact that people do not seem to realise the work that volunteers to do in coming together in common purpose is meitheal. It happens everywhere in the country, but that is driven from within rural communities. It is driven from the passion of rural communities - a passion that was in evidence in the Chamber today. Gabhaim míle buíochas le gach duine as páirt a ghlacadh sa díospóireacht seo inniu. Bhí sé úsáideach. Táimid chun an polasaí nua a fhoilsiú i gceann cúpla seachtain. Táim ag tnúth go mór leis an bpolasaí sin a chur i bhfeidhm. I am looking to the new draft, but, most importantly, the policy will not be the important thing. It is the action plan that will go with it. It will include measurable, ambitious actions that I will have no difficulty, as long as I am Minister in this Department, reporting back on. I will conclude by thanking all of the officials in my Department who work incredibly hard in this space. I especially thank each and every person across rural Ireland who volunteers in any format, in any organisation and in any club to make our rural communities stronger, more vibrant, more welcoming and more active.

Sentiment score: 0.14