Vol. 1065 No. 1
73. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development his plans to address economic and social inequality in 2025 in urban and rural areas; the initiatives he will undertake within his Department; and if he plans to progress funding for same. [14510/25]
My question, as is my form, is very straightforward. Will the Minister outline the plans that he has to address the economic and social inequality in 2025 in both urban and rural areas? What specific initiatives will he progress? If he could confine it to this year, I would be interested to know the scale of the ambition for the Department in terms of deliverables, KPIs and any indicators or targets that will be set.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as a ceist.
Working to address economic and social Inequality in urban and rural areas is a core part of the work of our Department. The Department’s budget for 2025 is €472 million. Of this, €212 million is allocated to the rural development programme, supporting our rural areas to thrive socially and economically. The funding supports a wide range of schemes that can help the rural economy and promote social inclusion. These schemes include the rural regeneration and development fund, the LEADER programme, town and village renewal agus an coiste CLÁR. The remaining €260 million is allocated to the community development area, supporting the economic and social development of communities in both rural and urban areas.
The social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, and the community services programme, CSP, are key programmes within the community development area. SICAP is currently Ireland’s primary social inclusion funding intervention, and is designed to help those individuals in the greatest need to access supports and to enable participation in communities. The CSP provides employment opportunities for people in disadvantaged areas, and those most distant from the labour market, while also ensuring the provision of vital community services throughout the country. Work by our Department in the areas of social enterprise and social innovation will also help address inequality in our communities. I am due to answer a question later on social enterprise in particular.
My Department works closely with local authorities, local development companies and community organisations in delivering on these social inclusion measures. My Department regularly engages with rural and urban stakeholders to identify issues. This engagement is ongoing, and we are currently developing successor policies to the Our Rural Future and Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities strategies. In the whole area of urban intervention, however, it is an area on which the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I are both focused. We want to work with Deputy O'Reilly and those across the House. It is an area on which we are spending a lot of money, but I am not convinced that we are getting the kind of returns we need. I want to progress that area a lot, not just in 2025, but during the lifetime of this Government.
I thank the Minister.
I do not want to be argumentative, and I am absolutely committed to working across the House to ensure that we address issues regarding inequality. While I thanked the Minister for his reply, there were no specifics in it and this is where my issue is. What we need to see is, for example, a target for the number of community centres. We all know that a community centre, a physical place where a community can come together - a bricks-and-mortar building - can be the driving force in a community in order for it to start combatting inequality within its own area. People need help, however.
Unfortunately, while the Minister's answer detailed some top-line figures, he did not give any specifics in terms of targets, such as targets for the number of community centres that will be opened or targets for how the Government will address the inequality. We know that there is massive inequality in both urban and rural Ireland. What we do not know is how the Government is going to address it. I understand the SICAP programme and the other programme, and they are working away, but is there anything specific in terms of deliverables for 2025 that the Minister has set for his Department and other organisations to deliver?
To give the Deputy an example regarding the community services programme, we are working with various companies around the country. We are contributing wage contribution to fund more than 2,000 positions in 430 community organisations. With regard to community centres, we have just finalised funding announcements for community centre refurbishments. That was community-led, rather than us setting a target, and that was important. We have just funded €22 million for proposals that came from across the country for specific needs and specific communities. I am worried, that if we set a target, that the communities' response will not be community-led response, whereas this has been driven from the community up regarding the specific service provided by the specific centre. We saw recently during Storm Éowyn how some centres were able to stand up. Therefore, my focus on community centre funding is how we continue to make sure they provide a specific need in the specific community.
Similarly, as we relaunch LEADER in 2025, it is community-focused and community-led. What I want to do is strengthen the structures to enable a community-led response in association with a partnership with the Department. It has to be community-led, however.
This is where we might have a small disagreement, because I absolutely agree with the Minister that it has to be community-led, but setting the targets will not interfere with that in any way, shape or form. The setting of targets actually gives a focus. The Minister was not doing the communities any favours when he suggested that they could work not to a deadline or a target because they can. There is quite an amount of disillusionment with regard to the commitment that this Government has to regeneration, particularly in rural Ireland. The nature of the fabric was actually exposed during Storm Éowyn. As the Minister mentioned, some communities were able to be very resilient because they had bricks-and-mortar facilities and places to go, and others that had the bricks-and-mortar facilities were not suitable. Even if the Minister said that the target was to find those areas that could not step up during Storm Éowyn and begin with them, but failure to set a target is a mistake because by setting targets, deadlines are driven and delivery is ensured.
To build on the previous figures regarding SICAP, we delivered funding of approximately €51 million, which supported 2,500 community groups and 27,000 individuals in 2024. I have already spoken about the community services programme. As LEADER relaunches this year, 46,000 people have completed LEADER-funded training, which allowed 16,000 jobs to be sustained in rural areas. We provided €7.5 million to the Dublin north-east inner city, NEIC, programme, with a particular focus on it being led from within the community. We have also provided €3 million in the empowering communities programme. I want to ensure that they continue to work, and working with the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, we will ensure that they are focused. I am more than happy to discuss what a target might look like in that context.
74. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the ongoing plans within his Department that exist to address the continuing challenges that communities in rural areas face with the cost of, and accessing transport services; if it will be included in a new future development strategy for rural Ireland to replace Our Rural Future; his plans for such a new strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14916/25]
I ask the Minister and Minister of State about the ongoing plans in the Department about the continuing challenges facing communities in rural areas such as the cost of and in accessing transport services. Are those plans are included in new future development for Our Rural Future, as presented by the Government? Will the Minister of State make a statement on the matter?
I thank Deputy Wall for the question and congratulate him on his election. I look forward to working with him again as we did in Seanad Éireann. He has always been a champion of transport and the Kildare-Dublin axis, and I look forward to working with him in that regard.
Our Rural Future, Ireland's national rural development policy was launched in 2021, following an extensive period of consultation which ensured that the policy prioritised responses to the needs identified by stakeholders and the public. Prominent among these was access to public transport services in rural areas, particularly among our young people and vulnerable members of our community or those at risk of social isolation. Measures addressing this issue were a key component of Our Rural Future and reflected the Government's strong commitment to improving rural transport connectivity.
The Department of Transport's connecting Ireland rural mobility plan has delivered real and lasting benefits to rural communities in recent years. For example, more than 145 service improvements have been introduced since 2022, meaning approximately 600,000 people now have access to new or enhanced bus services. Reduced fare initiatives have also been introduced, particularly for young people, and the 90-minute fare has been extended to the end of 2025.
These improvements have been welcomed across rural Ireland but we understand there is more to be done. Our most recent engagements with rural citizens suggest that transport services remain among the biggest issues for these communities. That is probably why Government decided to make me the first Minister of State at the Department of Transport with responsibility for rural transport. The programme for Government includes a commitment to publish and implement a new our rural future policy from 2026. I am pleased to say that the process of developing this next phase of rural policy has already begun. My colleague, the Minister, Deputy Calleary, recently launched an online survey to support the development of the new policy. Further stages of public consultation will follow over the coming months, which the Minister, Deputy Calleary, will outline in due course. I have no doubt that, following these engagements, our next rural future policy will again reflect the importance of access to transport services to rural communities. I look forward to working with the Minister, Deputy Calleary, to ensure that the new rural development policy from next year will build on the progress we have made to date under Our Rural Future.
I thank the Minister of State for coming in today and for his kind words. I look forward to working with him as we did previously in the Seanad. I welcome that Deputy Buttimer is the new Minister of State with responsibility for rural transport, because one of the issues which we discussed before was the M7, which was unfortunately a car park again this morning. I hope we can develop that idea.
An Indecon report on rural transport was written in the past year. I believe it is with the Minister of State at the moment. I would like to know the status of that. I put on the record again the difference that Local Link makes. My Kildare-south Dublin Local Link is a tremendous service. It has been a life-changer for many people. There are issues with developing and linking it, particularly with school transport. I believe that Local Link and school transport should act together and provide that service for those who are living in rural Ireland and the villages that need it. Will the Minister of State comment on that in his reply?
I will come back to the Deputy on the Indecon report. I do not have that information to hand. He is right about the M7 and the N40 in Cork. There is a need for all stakeholders to engage properly to see how we can make that a better thoroughfare for motorists and all road users. As the Deputy said, supporting rural Ireland is a priority for Government. Over the last number of years, we have seen 30 projects in the rural development fund for 2024, with €164 million. There was €20 million for 82 town and village renewal scheme projects in April last year. There is €100 million, as the Minister said, in the community recognition fund. There is €109 million in the community centre investment fund. Money is being expended in rural Ireland. As we have said already, it is about connectivity and about ensuring that people have access to travel. We have reduced fares and made public transport accessible. I met the former Minister, Alan Dukes, about Kildare transport. It is a wonderful scheme. I look forward to working with Deputy Wall and others. That scheme is probably an exemplar for other schemes across the country. I will come back to the Deputy about the Indecon report.
I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I think it is important to mention a few Local Link services. The 883 service has been a game-changer for many people in my home town, Athy. It links them in and allows them to get employment in the likes of Kildare Village and Newbridge. It is a game-changer and it should be expanded. One of the issues is for the village of Nurney, which does not have a Sunday service, because that link has no Sunday service. That will be a game-changer for villages which have been isolated, as the Minister of State said, and need the links. The Government has expanded the 880 service and it has made a difference. There is no doubt, throughout rural Ireland, that Local Link is making a difference. School transport and seven-day Local Link services are badly needed. I ask the Minister of State to go back and look at this once again.
I mentioned the village of Suncroft before. We have been waiting on a service there. I am working with the local manager, Alan Kerry, to provide that service. The village of Suncroft has no direct services to the towns of Kildare and Newbridge. It is badly needed. I will continue to work with the NTA. The Minister of State might speak to the local services and the NTA about the village of Suncroft. I appreciate the Minister of State's replies.
I raise the 215 Blarney bus. The 215 Blarney bus goes from Mahon Point to Blarney. The Minister of State can appreciate it is coming from Mahon Point and through the city, so the timing is quite difficult. I want to make the Minister of State aware of it. I know the Minister of State will not have any answers on that. Will he look into it?
I will respond to Deputy Wall first. As he know, Connecting Ireland's rural mobility plan has been a huge success, with 145 new or enhanced services since it began. A total of 240 towns and villages have been connected with, for example, 61 connections to healthcare facilities, 41 higher education facilities and 71 rail services. A total of 600,000 people have access to new and enhanced bus services. In Deputy Wall's county, Kildare, with his constituency being Kildare South, we have seen increased Local Link services, including between Athy and Kilkenny since December last year, the Newbridge to Dunlavin and Kilcullen route which was enhanced in May last year, and since January last year, we have seven daily return services from Naas to Carlow. I take the Deputy's point about the area of Suncroft. I will work with him and Local Link. As I said, I met Alan Dukes recently. It is a phenomenal service, providing great access for people.
Deputy Kenny raised the issue of the 215 Blarney route. It has been raised before. Passengers numbers have increased exponentially on the route. We have spoken with Bus Éireann and the NTA about it. I will talk to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on the Deputy's behalf on that.
For the information of Members present, we cannot take supplementary questions on priority questions. Apologies to Members.
I thank the Chair.
75. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development his Department's plan to critically evaluate the outcomes of Our Rural Future: Rural Development Policy 2021–2025; and the extent to which this will inform the development of a new policy. [14861/25]
Ar dtús báire, déanaim comhghairdeas leis an mbeirt Airí. I congratulate the Ministers on their respective roles. As Deputy O'Reilly has said, both she and I, as their counterparts on this side of the House, will endeavour to co-operate with them and engage constructively with them, but it is also our role to hold them to account. Accountability is at the crux of my question. It relates to Our Rural Future and the rural development plan, which, as we know, is terminating this year. I note that public consultation has begun. What metrics will be used to inform the next development? Will there be an appraisal of the key deliverables in the last one?
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta McGuinness as a bheannachtaí. Táim ag tnúth le hobair leis ar chúrsaí a bhaineann leis an Roinn seo agus leis an nGaeltacht. Our Rural Future was launched in 2021 and over its five year duration has provided vital investment and support, strengthened local economies and improved the lives of many people across rural Ireland. The programme for Government includes a commitment to publish and implement a new rural future policy from 2026. In order to ensure that the development of the new policy is informed by an independent evaluation of the current policy, my Department has commissioned an OECD review. This review will examine not just Our Rural Future, but will also focus on the rural policy framework more generally for Ireland. The review began in earnest under the former Minister, Heather Humphreys, last year and the OECD review group has now met with more than 500 officials and stakeholders across a variety of in-person and online engagements as part of its work.
The OECD is currently drafting a report based on this work, which will be published later this year and which I have no doubt will make a strong contribution to the development of our rural future policy. I look forward to engaging parties across the floor on that report. I also want to engage directly with the public and stakeholders on the new policy. A comprehensive public consultation process has been designed in this regard. The process started with an online survey which is open until Wednesday, 2 April. I encourage all Deputies to help to promote that. The survey findings will inform a series of in-person events which will take place across the country from May onwards, and there will also be an opportunity for parties to make submissions about the new policy later in the year. This level of consultation is designed to ensure that the experience of people living in our rural communities is absolutely central to the development of a successor policy programme.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as an bhfreagra sin. I am glad that the OECD report is to be published. I think that will provide food for thought for everybody living and working in rural Ireland. From my conversations with people in rural Ireland and my own experience, I imagine the biggest result and theme that will emerge from the consultations, which will no doubt be reflected in the OECD report, will be the issue of housing, particularly in rural Ireland. One of the key deliverables is the regeneration and repopulation of rural Ireland and another is the aim to actively involve young people in rural development and rejuvenating rural Ireland, but that cannot happen when people cannot live in rural Ireland.
In communities all across this State, young people are leaving rural Ireland in their droves. They are leaving because there are not homes for them to live in.
I am anxious to get the views of younger people in rural areas. Part of the consultation will be specifically focused on them and getting them to engage with the review. Housing is a major issue. Táimid ag plé cúrsaí tithíochta i gcomhthéacs cúrsaí Gaeltachta freisin ach ní fadhb Ghaeltachta amháin í. Is fadhb í i ngach ceantar agus i ngach baile, rural agus urban. We will be looking at that.
The outgoing strategy has exceeded many expectations. We now have the biggest budget in the history of the State within the Department of €472 million, which is being spent in communities right across the country. I want to see what Our Rural Future looks like in 2026 - in housing but also an infrastructure and in facilities. We are much more online now than we were in 2021. What do we need to do to promote that or do we need to consider what impact it is having? There are many areas such as climate and the impact of climate change on rural communities will have to be part of this policy document as well. I look forward to engaging in debate on it. What is most important is that we get out and about debate these matters.
I welcome the Minister's comments, in particular about the importance of housing, infrastructure and facilities. The previous plan had a very significant focus on digital connectivity. That might have been a product of the time it was put together. The focus must now shift, as my colleague said earlier, with regard to bricks and mortar, and having facilities, homes and infrastructure so that people can live their lives in rural Ireland, raise their children there, and access public services. That must be the focus - be it GP services or the post office network. The Minister understands they are critically important to so many rural communities, as are school places and homes for people to live in.
We agree on a lot. I also point out that, as the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, has just said, the RRDF is helping in terms of building community revitalisation to assist in housing as well. We announced 30 RRDF projects last year, worth €164 million. A total of €20 million was spent under the town and village renewal scheme. That window is open again this year. We are looking at how we build infrastructure to encourage people. Under the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the vacant properties grant is assisting in a lot of rural areas. I see houses opening up that have perhaps not been opened in my lifetime or at least for many decades. We will continue to promote that grant. We will see what changes need to be made to make it more flexible, to get people to revitalise existing properties. That, in turn, will support the post office, school, local facilities and local teams. It is all interconnected.
76. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development his plans to establish a dedicated grant scheme for the maintenance and upgrading of community playgrounds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14526/25]
Will the Minister commit to funding, in a direct and integrated way through our councils, playground provision for towns and villages according to their population size and based on an assessment of existing facilities?
Midleton, for example, is a thriving town in east Cork, but our playground provision nowhere near meets the needs of a large and growing local population of young families. We have no skate park. These amenities are desperately needed. We must ensure a proportionate development of community amenities in line with residential development.
I thank Deputy Quaide for the question. There is no doubting the importance of playground facilities in communities. That is the reason my Department supports such facilities through the CLÁR programme, the local enhancement programme, the LEADER programme, the community recognition fund and the town and village renewal scheme.
The CLÁR programme provides funding for small-scale projects in rural areas that have experienced significant levels of depopulation. The programme provides funding for community recreation facilities and amenities, including playgrounds. We are announcing the 2025 programme in the coming weeks.
The LEADER programme provides support to rural communities under a range of themes, including rural infrastructure and social inclusion. For many years, LEADER has supported playgrounds once they are compatible with the local development strategy for the relevant LEADER area. LEADER is now open for applications in many areas.
The community recognition fund recognises the huge efforts made by communities in welcoming and supporting people coming to Ireland. Since 2023, €100 million has been allocated to support community facilities, including for gaming areas and playgrounds.
The local enhancement programme provides funding to community groups in disadvantaged areas. It does support playgrounds. The programme is administered by local community development committees across the country, and co-ordinated by local authorities. We also have the town and village renewal scheme, for which the window is now open.
Through the community recognition fund, €50,000 was allocated to Cork County Council in 2023 for upgrade works to the playground in Midleton. A range of options is available to communities that want to work in tandem with local authorities to develop playground facilities.
Yesterday, I was in Ballyogan, Dún Laoghaire, where I opened a library. The council developed the library with a playground as part of the outdoor space around it. You can literally can walk straight from the library into the playground. It is a fantastic use of resources and a great example of what can be done with a little bit of thinking outside the box.
Playgrounds are central parts of a flourishing community - places where children get to explore, have fun, challenge themselves, and connect with peers. To provide for children in these respects, Midleton requires a much larger playground than either of the two that we currently have. Ballinacurra, which is just outside Midleton, has no playground at all for a rising population. We also need a skate park in Midleton. In addition, we need disability-accessible equipment. In short, our young people deserve better.
I thank the local council officials for obtaining €50,000 through a community recognition fund application after I raised the need for a playground upgrade over an extended period. Unfortunately, we need multiples of that amount. It should not fall on committees of families to seek out such funding. I am currently part of a committee of local families, along with my councillor colleague, Eamonn Horgan, and we are exploring all of the funding streams the Minister mentioned to provide expanded and upgraded playground provision in Midleton and Ballinacurra.
I welcome the fact that the initiative has been taken locally. The funding options are available to Cork County Council to support and fund that work. I direct the Deputy to the town and village renewal scheme, which is currently open. As it has funded playgrounds, skate parks, MUGAs, etc. in the past, it is definitely worth having a look at that. I encourage the Deputy to engage with Cork County Council on that. He can also engage with me on it.
It can be invigorating to be part of a committee pursuing funds for playground provision. It brings people together in common purpose for their community. My councillor colleague, Ann Bambury, was central to such an initiative in Bandon for a very ambitious project there, but it should not be left to families to become social entrepreneurs and project managers, essentially spending vast amounts of time trying to stitch together funding grants to develop essential community facilities.
It is likely that some of the children of the families based in Midleton and Ballinacurra, which are part of our committee, will have aged out of playground use by the time we have succeeded in achieving the more ambitious parts of our aim. Just as it should not be left to parents to campaign for a new school, they should not have to take on the task of developing playgrounds and skate parks, and expanding existing facilities. Parents have enough to do. Childhood passes by quickly.
I could not agree more with the Deputy. Parents are very busy, but it is not the job of the Department either. We have put the funding initiatives in place and the local authorities can engage with us on them. They are best suited to that role in such developments given their skills and knowledge of what is needed in each area. Under CLÁR alone, we funded 17 projects in Cork in 2023. In 2024 we funded 23 projects. The two tranches amount to almost €2 million between them. We have the funding for facilities. We engage through the local authorities because they are the best mechanism. They have the on-the-ground expertise. I gave the Deputy a good example of a development yesterday using both programmes. The funding is there under different streams. Good local authorities engage with us and draw down the funding which delivers for parents and families.
77. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the number of applications for the local improvement scheme in Donegal since 2020; the number of outstanding local improvement scheme roads in Donegal; if he will allocate a major increase in local improvement scheme funding for the Glenties and Inishowen municipal districts given the demand; whether he will review the local improvement scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14862/25]
I would be grateful if the Minister could outline the number of applications for the local improvement scheme, LIS, in Donegal since 2020, and the number of outstanding LIS roads in Donegal.
I would also like to know whether he will allocate a major increase in LIS funding to the Glenties and Inishowen municipal districts because an increase in funding for the roads in these areas is desperately needed. Will he also look at reviewing the local improvement scheme during his term?
I thank Deputy Ward for his question.
As members are aware, the LIS is an important support for rural communities in improving non-public rural roads and laneways not usually maintained by local authorities. Since its establishment in 2017, almost €170 million has been provided by the Government to local authorities under the scheme. In April of last year, some €40 million in funding was announced for LIS across all local authorities to cover 2024 and 2025. Department officials have recently opened the 2025 LIS and invited local authorities to submit their lists of priority roads for completion in 2025.
Since 2020, Donegal County Council has been allocated over €8.3 million in scheme funding. This figure includes an allocation of €2.79 million for last year and this year. The 2025 return from the council detailing the works it will undertake this year is due to be submitted to my Department shortly. I believe 224 roads have been completed in County Donegal.
As the Deputy will appreciate with regard to the areas he mentioned, rather than being allocated on a municipal district basis, scheme funding is allocated on a local authority basis and authorities themselves decide on allocations across their areas. In terms of annual funding allocations, a review of the scheme is carried out by the Department ahead of any new funding announcements in order to ensure allocations across local authorities are made as fairly and efficiently as possible. Department officials, the Minister, Deputy Calleary, and I work closely with local authorities to ensure that funding is fully utilised. I am, as is the Minister, Deputy Calleary, committed to ensuring the LIS continues to be well funded in the coming years.
As we all know, it is a fantastic scheme. It is one that many want to avail of. The Government, the Minister, Deputy Calleary, and I are very committed to engaging to ensure we receive, as we have done year-on-year, an increase in scheme funding. As regards Donegal, the allocation for this year has not yet been submitted.
If the Minister of State has been to Donegal, he will know many of our rural roads are in an awful state and in urgent need of upgrading, particularly around the Glenties and Inishowen areas. These are the most deprived areas. They are rural areas.
The LIS as it currently stands is wholly inadequate for us as there is a need to address the infrastructural differences between rural and urban Donegal. There are hundreds of people in my constituency who have been waiting on the LIS list for years and it seems many of them are unlikely to see their roads addressed under the current scheme. I welcome the scheme. It was extended last year and more families can qualify for the scheme but it is pointless if they cannot access it as it is currently set up. We need to ensure people can access their homes and farms safely. Without effective infrastructure, rural and Gaeltacht communities, particularly those in my area, are dying. Without these roads and people helping in the communities by fixing these roads, we will end up with people having to move to urban centres and leave rural Ireland.
I agree with the Deputy that it is important we ensure people have accessibility and it is about giving them comfort. Donegal has been very good at spending the money allocated to it and has been very successful, with 224 roads completed. It is about ensuring there is flexibility in certain areas where there are pressure points. I will engage with the Deputy and the Minister, Deputy Calleary, in terms of Donegal County Council looking at the points where there are issues that need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
Local authorities are very good at drawing down the money and Donegal has been exceptional in this regard. I look forward to working with it. The base funding has increased year-on-year. It is a capital expenditure scheme. The Government has committed to this scheme. There will be a review of the NDP and we will look for more money for the LIS. Donegal has been very good in this area and I hope it can avail of some of the unspent money in future years. I commend Donegal County Council for the work it has done in spending the allocation. I thank the Deputy for the question.
I understand this but the LIS funding allocated to Donegal must increase and be prioritised because of what is going on in the west of Donegal, Gaeltacht areas and north Inishowen, in particular. Councillors out there are constantly looking for funding. There are roads that have not been touched for years. If a plan was put in place for the LIS roads in north Inishowen and west Donegal, it would effectively help rural communities. During his term, will the Minister of State consider increasing the funding for LIS in Donegal, if he can?
As the Deputy is aware, the Minister, Deputy Calleary, and I are very committed to this scheme. It is a very important one and at the heart of what we do about rural Ireland. It is about connectivity and it goes back to the question raised by Deputy Wall. It goes back to Deputy Ward's point about people who live way off the road and are trying to-----
Yes.
-----end social isolation and enhance connectivity. There are different factors when it comes to roads, such as geography, the condition of roads and the amount of road area to be covered. I will communicate the Deputy's point to Donegal County Council. It is a vast and beautiful county. To be fair, the road network has been improved. There may be some areas that need to be enhanced. We have seen a year-on-year increase in the allocation of funding to Donegal. The Department will engage further. It is a matter for the municipal authority as to how the county spends the money already allocated. I encourage the Deputy to engage with the roads director there as well. I thank the Deputy for the question.
Deputy Jerry Buttimer: -----social isolation and enhance connectivity. There are different factors around the issue of roads in terms of geography, the conditon of roads and the amount of road area to be covered. I will communicate the point the Deputy made to Donegal County Council because it is a vast county. It is a beautiful county. The road network there has been improved, to be fair. There are some areas that need to be enhancedhnio the allocation to Donegal.
