Vol. 517 No. 3
21 Ms Coughlan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development when he will establish a national rural development forum; the terms of reference and membership of the forum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9710/00]
I am making the arrangements to establish the national rural development forum as promised in the White Paper on Rural Development, Ensuring the Future, which I launched last August.
As set out in the White Paper, the terms of reference will be to debate current issues relating to rural development; to review the impact of current programmes on rural development; and to identify and recommend suitable policy responses to rural development problems. The forum will have a wide membership including Government Departments, State agencies, regional assemblies and authorities, local authorities, the social partners and the wider voluntary and community sector.
I invited the various bodies earlier this year to submit their nominees for membership of the forum and to suggest topics for discussion. I intend to have the first meeting of the forum, which I will chair, in Nenagh on 2 May next.
