Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 March 2017
651. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the steps she has taken to identify and ameliorate the primary issues hindering rural development, especially in regard to counties Sligo and Leitrim, with particular reference to the need to maintain a viable rural population and the recently announced action plan for rural development; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13096/17]
View answerOn 23 January, I launched Realising our Rural Potential, the Government's Action Plan for Rural Development. The Plan contains over 270 actions to be delivered by a range of Government Departments, State agencies and other bodies to support the economic and social development of rural Ireland. The Plan was developed following an extensive consultation process with stakeholders to identify the key issues affecting rural communities today. The Action Plan contains measures across a range of policy areas which will help to maintain and revitalise rural communities across the whole country. For instance, a key component of the Plan is to support the creation of jobs throughout the regions to ensure that people who live in rural areas have increased opportunities for employment locally. The Plan aims to deliver 135,000 extra jobs outside of Dublin by 2020.
Our towns and villages are the heart of our rural communities, and it is important that we implement measures to help breath life back into these rural towns and villages. The rejuvenation of towns and villages will be supported under the Action Plan through schemes such as the Town and Village Renewal Scheme and the CLÁR Programme, both of which will be open to applications from counties Sligo and Leitrim. I also intend to launch a pilot scheme later in the year to encourage people to take up residential occupancy of premises in town centres.
The Action Plan also sets out a number of actions which will protect and enhance vital services in rural communities. For example, the Plan includes a commitment that no small school will close against the wishes of parents; it also sets out a number of actions in relation to access to healthcare, including an increase in the number of GPs in rural areas.
The actions in this Plan are the start of an on-going process which will be built on continuously to unlock the potential of rural Ireland and improve the lives of people who live and work in rural communities.
