My Departments mission and focus is to help build vibrant, sustainable communities across this country.
The Action Plan for Rural Development and the Framework Policy for Local and Community Development in Ireland, in conjunction with the recently launched Project Ireland 2040, are the key policy initiatives that set out how we can support urban and rural communities and the ways in which the Government aims to change the narrative around rural Ireland and other communities suffering from disadvantage.
The Action Plan emphasises the positive contribution of rural Ireland to the economy and to our identity, focusing on both the economic and social development of rural Ireland and the regions.
The Framework Policy sets out national priorities for rural development and a framework for improving engagement between national and local government and local communities in the planning, delivery and evaluation of policies and interventions that affect them.
The objective of the new €1 billion Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, launched as part of Project Ireland, will be to drive collaborative, co-ordinated and complementary packages of investment between Departments, agencies, local authorities and other public bodies in pooling their assets and working with local communities, and the private sector where appropriate, to transform our rural towns and villages and outlying rural areas.
All of these policies and initiatives promote a cross-Government approach to delivering strategies that ensure that economic and social development is felt equally across all areas of the country including in rural Ireland.
My own Department already operates a range of schemes and programmes with this objective in mind, including the recently launched new Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP), the new Community Enhancement Programme, the CLAR programme, Town and Village Renewal Scheme and the LEADER programme.
My Department is also working closely with local authorities to support the roll-out of the National Broadband Plan and rural telecommunications infrastructure. We are assisting local authorities to develop local digital strategies, which will be essential if the full economic and social benefits of high-speed broadband connectivity are to be realised over the coming years.
All the initiatives outlined which my Department is delivering will combine to have a significant positive impact on rural Ireland and the narrative which surrounds it.
