Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 September 2018
74. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the extent to which he has identified specific issues in rural and community life with a view to putting in place particular measures to address these issues with the objective of improving prospects for all involved in rural Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38592/18]
View answer81. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development his plans for the evolution of rural and community development with particular reference to those areas of responsibility under his aegis; the extent to which he has identified key issues most likely to contribute to an enhancement to community and rural life here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38591/18]
View answerI ask the Minister the extent to which he has a vision in respect of the input he sees as being crucial to enhancing rural Ireland in its various forms throughout the country and with particular reference to community and local groups, as well as to the environment.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 74 and 81 together.
As Minister with responsibility for rural and community development, my primary focus is to support the creation of vibrant and sustainable communities across the country. This can be achieved through the implementation of programmes and initiatives that facilitate economic development through the creation of jobs and the infrastructure required to support these jobs and to support our communities to become and remain desirable places to live, work and raise families.
Through Project Ireland 2040 and the national development plan, the Government will be providing investment of almost €116 billion over the next decade, much of which will be invested in the regions, including €1 billion through the rural regeneration and development fund.
Project Ireland 2040 will help breathe new life into communities across the country, providing access to recreational and leisure facilities, by increasing the attractiveness of communities to visitors and, most importantly, by supporting job creation and employment for people who live in rural areas.
My Department has also been working to achieve these objectives through a number of existing schemes and programmes, such as LEADER, CLÁR, the town and village renewal scheme, the local improvement scheme, the outdoor recreation scheme, the social inclusion and community activation programme and the community enhancement programme. These have delivered funding and supports to numerous small and large-scale projects and my Department looks forward to continuing to operate other programmes, including the rural regeneration and development fund in the future.
I thank the Minister for his reply. To what extent has the Minister received a response from local rural communities across the country and have all areas responded in a way he expected and with sufficient enthusiasm to ensure the procedures he has put in place and the measures he is taking are going to have the maximum beneficial impact throughout the areas?
There is an investment of €44 million in community services programmes in 2018 to support more than 400 organisations. The Department also provides a lot of funding to the libraries programme and I know the Deputy is a supporter of libraries. I want to see libraries being used as community hubs to make sure that people will be able to use them across the country and that is what the capital programme and the extra funding I have given this year is for.
The community enhancement programme was given an investment of €4 million earlier this year and it has now been given a further €8 million. That is €12.5 million in total. Programmes like the town and village scheme, the CLÁR programme and the local improvement schemes all help to put a bit of life into rural Ireland.
If I was asked which is the best scheme that the Department has introduced, I would answer the town and village scheme. It takes public realms and makes towns and villages nice places to live. It supports community hubs, like food hubs and digital hubs. It also supports people who want to get investment into local areas. I have asked my Department to look at job creation this year within the town and village scheme. The scheme has worked very well. There has been approval for 1,300 projects within the LEADER programme, as we mentioned earlier. I would like to see more projects being approved. I would like to see more drawdown of funding and more schemes being drawn out of the LEADER programme.
Is the Minister in a position to identify specific issues such as infrastructural deficits throughout the regions, such as roads and communications, which might impede investment in major industries?
To what extent will the Minister be able to link in with other Ministers who are in the business of ensuring an even spread of industrial investment throughout the country?
A big issue, which we discussed earlier, is that of broadband. We are having some success in the roll-out of broadband, particularly with the announcement last week of interest in competing or tendering for its future development, which is very important. A simple thing that has been a big help to local communities - I do not know if it is a big issue in the Deputy's area, but it is in mine - is the local improvement scheme, LIS. It is a very simple scheme that helps people to get in and out of their houses or boreens. These people pay for their water supply and they pay property and other taxes but the State does not provide any real services for them. The one thing that they ask for is the local improvement scheme. There are other schemes in my Department, including the CLÁR programme and the rural regeneration scheme, which we are excited about and the application process for which closes on Thursday. We will see how many applications for that come in from across the country. This targets investment in rural areas and I hope we will see some very good projects come in as part of that scheme. We hope adjudication on that scheme will be complete by November and that next year there will be a draw down of some of that funding and jobs created on the back of it. The town and village scheme is another scheme that has worked well. I have given the examples of Drumshanbo and Skibbereen but there are many other examples around the country where there have been digital, food and enterprise hubs and where people have broadband which gives them the opportunity and the start they need.
