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Rural Development.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 April 2007

Tuesday, 24 April 2007

Ceisteanna (21, 22, 23, 24, 25)

Róisín Shortall

Ceist:

50 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the progress made during the lifetime of the Government in regard to the achievement in rural Ireland of vibrant sustainable communities with the range of age, income, occupational groups essential to adapt to ongoing economic, social, cultural and environmental change; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15012/07]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Emmet Stagg

Ceist:

66 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the progress made during the lifetime of this Government in regard to retaining the maximum number of rural households and family farms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15013/07]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Jack Wall

Ceist:

71 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the contribution made by his Department in regard to individuals and families having a real choice as to whether to stay in, leave or move to rural Ireland on the basis of sufficient income and employment being available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15015/07]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Bernard J. Durkan

Ceist:

78 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs his policy proposals in respect of rural development in the future; if this involves the cessation of existing schemes; the purpose of same; the expected impact on rural development in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14984/07]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Mary Upton

Ceist:

81 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the extent to which equity has been achieved in terms of opportunity between rural and urban communities and between communities in rural areas during the lifetime of this Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15014/07]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I propose to take Questions Nos. 50, 66, 71, 78 and 81 together.

Despite continuing urbanisation, Ireland is still a comparatively rural country. About 40% of the population continue to live in rural areas and while the rates of population growth over the past decade have been greater in urban than in rural areas, population growth in the regions has still been strong. There is little doubt, however, that in recent years, the rural economy has been undergoing rapid change. Rural areas will, therefore, need to continue to diversify and develop in the coming years to take account of the ongoing demographic, social and economic changes that impact on their communities.

One of the key goals of my Department is to promote and maintain living and working populations in rural areas by helping to foster sustainable and culturally vibrant communities. Since its establishment in 2002, my Department has been vigorously pursuing policies and programmes that seek to address the changing nature of rural communities, support their development and promote better regional balance.

The Rural Social Scheme (RSS), which I introduced in 2004, is particularly noteworthy in this context. The success of the Scheme is clearly evident from the fact that all available places have now been allocated. Participants work 19.5 hours per week. Significantly, the RSS has allowed people to supplement their farm income and yet remain involved in farming. In this way, many family farm incomes have remained viable, which I know the Deputies will appreciate is critical for the vitality of rural communities throughout the country. The RSS provides resources to maintain and improve local amenities and facilities in rural areas. Communities benefit from the skills and talents of local farmers and fisher persons, while the participants are provided with opportunities to improve existing skills, and develop new ones, as they perform valuable work in the community. Funding for the RSS for the period 2007-2013 is included in the new National Development Plan which clearly confirms the Government's continued and on-going commitment to the Scheme — and to rural communities — in the coming years.

Better infrastructure in rural areas means more people will live in them, taking pressure off the urban areas and in a completion of the circle, making the rural services more economically viable. The CLÁR (Ceantair Laga Ard Riachtanais) Programme supports physical, economic and social infrastructure in rural areas of special disadvantage across a variety of measures — such as electricity conversion, roads, water and sewerage, village, housing and schools enhancement, health, coastal and sports and community projects. CLÁR acts as a lever to elicit money from other sources through funding and co-funding arrangements with Government Departments, State Agencies and Local Authorities. In the years 2002 — 2006, €71m was spent on investments under the Programme with related public and private expenditure in the region of €61m. Over €18.6m is available for investment under the Programme in 2007.

Over 4,000 projects have been approved for funding in CLÁR areas from 2002 to date. Specific examples include more than 600 Class 111 roads assisted to the value of €9.6m and almost €19m spent on the improvement of Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) roads. Nearly 100 minor health projects and 660 schools playground projects have been approved since 2004. Just under €1.4m was provided to projects at Knock Airport. More than 345 water and sewerage projects have been approved since 2002. Many of these projects would not have gone ahead without CLÁR funding and in adding to the infrastructure of rural Ireland, I am sure the Deputies will agree that they have considerably improved the living conditions of rural communities.

It should also be noted that my Department has acted as the Managing Authority for the delivery of the two LEADER Programmes in Ireland for the 2000–06 round of structural funding, the Area Based Rural Development Initiative and the LEADER+ EU Initiative. The combined budget for the two EU co-funded Programmes of €150m was committed by the end of 2006 and full drawdown of all available expenditure is anticipated. Among the key achievements, to end December 2006, of the Programmes are the following:

No. of projects — 9,419;

No. of jobs created — 5,090;

No. of new enterprises assisted — 1,866; and

No. of persons trained — 59,711.

A new seven-year funding round commences this year under the Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 and I have secured an almost three-fold increase in funding available for LEADER in that period. Key outside the farm gate measures will be targeted such as diversification into non-agricultural activities, support for business creation and development, encouragement of tourism activities, services for the economy and rural population, village renewal and development, and conservation and upgrading of the rural heritage.

The work being done by the Western Development Commission (WDC) is also of relevance. The WDC promotes economic and social development in counties Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, Mayo, Galway and Clare through policy analysis and development, the promotion of regional initiatives and the operation of the Western Investment Fund.

One of the WDC's initiatives is the ‘Look West' promotion and advertising campaign which positions the West as an appealing place to live and work. It is aimed at people in and around the greater Dublin area who may consider moving to the West. The intention is to attract a broad range of people and skills to the western counties. The key message of the initiative is the excellent quality of life available in the western counties. Typically, people living in the West can enjoy shorter commuting times, lower house prices, more affordable childcare and other services and a rich and varied sporting and cultural life.

In addition, in the period 2002-2006, €17m was invested through the Western Investment Fund in 66 enterprises in the western region.

Furthermore, I see the area of countryside recreation and pursuits such as walking and cycling, in particular, as offering great potential for rural communities in the future. The development of countryside recreation will be a key part of the measures to be rolled out under the new Rural Development Programme.

The Local Development Social Inclusion Programme is also important in terms of supporting rural development. The programme has a particular focus on supporting people and communities suffering disadvantage and exclusion through a wide spectrum of locally promoted actions. Some €417m will be provided over the period 2007-2013 to support measures under the Programme in both urban and rural settings.

I would also like to briefly mention two other programmes run by my Department which, I believe, are of relevance. Firstly, under the Community Development Programme, the core costs of some 44 rural-based projects have been receiving, on average, just over €4 million annually from my Department to support their work. These projects provide a focal point for community activity within the local neighbourhoods.

Secondly, while the Community Services Programme is not a rural initiative per se, it aims to support the economic and social regeneration of local communities and to provide employment opportunities for the unemployed or other disadvantaged persons. Over 400 projects throughout the country are being funded.

I will also be announcing a new pilot night-time rural transport scheme in the next few weeks to allow rural people to fully participate in the various activities — community, sporting and social — that take place in rural areas in the evening.

Looking to the future, I believe that the signs are very encouraging for rural communities. As well as providing continued funding for the programmes operated by my Department, the National Development Plan (NDP) will — within the framework of other national policies and programmes — continue to assist in the social and economic development of rural areas through measures such as rural transport, non-national roads, rural water services, broadband and agriculture. Indeed, the Deputies should note that for the first time ever, a dedicated chapter on the development of the rural economy is included in the NDP. The implementation of the National Spatial Strategy over the coming years will, I believe, also have a significant impact on the development of rural communities.

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