7. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht when he intends to publish the successor to Our Rural Future for the period beyond 2025; and whether that new strategy will include clear, measurable targets for rural services, rural employment, rural housing and ensuring population sustainability. [8692/26]
Sentiment score: 0.23
My question relates to the old chestnut of Our Rural Future, which we have discussed many times in the Chamber and outside it. When does the Minister intend to publish the successor document? I understand there was a period of consultation late last year. I participated in that consultation, as did many others around the country. Will that new strategy include clear, measurable targets for rural services, rural employment, ensuring population sustainability, addressing the demographic crisis and, crucially, the issue of rural housing?
Sentiment score: 0.02
I do not doubt the level of engagement that took place, which I welcome. It is the right way to do consultation and engagement. When a plan such as this that is of such importance to the future of rural Ireland is being put together, it is vitally important to go out and take the views of people. It is then more important, and the Minister knows this, to ensure that those views are captured in the final document and the recommendations therein are concrete, actionable and, crucially, have timelines and responsible parties attached to them, by which I mean Departments and State agencies. Does the Minister have a timeline? Notwithstanding the volume of work and analysis required following that process of engagement, does he have a timeline for the publication of the document this year? My contention is slightly different from his in that I do not accept that the previous iteration included very concrete and defined goals that could be used as a yardstick to any great extent. There was a lot of aspiration but it lacked substance, vision and, crucially, as I have discussed with the Minister in the Chamber, an emphasis on housing. I imagine that came through very clearly to him in his engagement with young people, as did the demographic collapse, as mentioned in the previous question, that is affecting so many rural communities precisely because of housing.
Sentiment score: 0.49
One of the concerns and worries I have on this, and I am not entirely sure if the Minister shares this but it is realistic, is the level of engagement he will get from his colleagues in government around the Cabinet table and from State agencies in the local government sector. That is why I am so keen to see clear, responsible persons or agencies attached to every single action and timeline within the plan. The biggest one is the Department of housing, as it covers housing and local government, but there is also the Department of enterprise, when looking at employment and tourism as well. I am quite keen that there be ongoing engagement and liaison at the highest level, Minister to Minister, to ensure that the final objectives and goals laid down in that plan, which we all eagerly await, will be measurable and there will be a level of accountability. That is something the Minister needs to bring back to Cabinet and to Government to make sure that not only is the plan read, at the very least, but its actions are understood at the highest level in each of the Departments and agencies responsible and at local government level.
Sentiment score: 0.62
I am taking this question for Deputy Clarke. It relates to rural development funding, which is an issue close to my heart. We see all around us in our communities the impact it has on creating and sustaining employment and sustaining community initiatives. Last year, we saw a €5 million cut to the rural development spend in the budget. That seems to be on trend for this Government, and for successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Administrations when it comes to rural Ireland. Is it something we are likely to see replicated in budget 2027?
Sentiment score: 0.08
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire for confirming that. I understand that the LEADER programme is a five-year programme and that there may be peaks and troughs, but a €10 million reduction in the budget this year compared with last year is still €10 million of a reduction. I welcome the fact that that money is not lost. It is not out of the budget and the Minister will bring it back. However, there is a growing sense of disillusionment in rural communities, that it is on the back foot and its days are numbers, and that there seems to be indifference from Government to the plight of rural Ireland. There is a growing need for diversification. I do not need to tell the Minister about the debate in this House last night and over the past number of weeks, and the crisis in confidence that exists in Irish agriculture. I do not need to tell him about the crisis in the Irish fishing industry. As part of the wider rural development issue, what LEADER crucially does is support economic diversification, creating opportunities in rural communities. It is concerning that €10 million has been taken out of it this year.
Sentiment score: 0.05
I will start by agreeing with the Minister that there is definitely ambition in rural communities. There is no shortage of ambition and self-awareness within these communities but on my travels and in my engagements, I do not see the confidence the Minister speaks of because rural communities are reeling. They are reeling from the demographic crisis that has already been spoken about this morning. Indeed, Deputies from the Minister's side of the House mentioned that the GAA is very quick to point to, and has the statistics and evidence to back it up, instances where teams cannot pull sufficient players together to compete, where young people are being forced to go abroad or to larger urban areas or the cities to find housing solutions, where schools are struggling to keep children enrolled, where public services are bare on the ground and where people cannot access dentists or GP services. There is huge disillusionment in rural Ireland and if we in this Chamber are unable to acknowledge that, if we do not see and if our ears are open but we are not picking up on that, we have a difficulty. I am not filled with a huge amount of confidence a corner will be, or has been, turned. Going back to the rural development piece, we really do need to see that €10 million in additional funding being made available. I look forward to that and will be keeping a close watch on it because it is crucially important to the communities I represent.
Sentiment score: -0.15