Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 June 2017
961. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the degree to which her Department can address the issues of urban or rural decay throughout the country with particular reference to those areas that have to date not benefitted from the economic recovery and which previously were deemed not to have experienced the economic boom; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27880/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government's Action Plan for Rural Development provides a framework for the coordinated delivery of over 270 actions by a range of Government Departments, State agencies and other bodies to support the economic and social development of rural areas, many of which have not felt the benefit of economic recovery. From my own Department’s perspective, initiatives such as the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, the CLÁR programme and capital grants for arts and culture centres have all been launched this year. All of these initiatives contribute to the economic and social progress of rural areas. My Department is also developing a pilot initiative to increase residential occupancy in rural town and village centres. It is hoped that this pilot can be launched later this year.
Bodies such as Údarás na Gaeltachta, the Western Development Commission, the Heritage Council, Waterways Ireland and the National Parks and Wildlife Services also contribute to economic development in rural areas through enterprise supports or investment in tourism and heritage assets.
A key component of the Action Plan for Rural Development is to support the creation of jobs throughout the regions to ensure that people who live in rural areas have increased opportunities for employment locally. The Department of Enterprise and Innovation is delivering the regional Action Plans for Jobs, and Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland have placed a renewed focus on supporting enterprises at regional level. These initiatives will have a positive impact on job opportunities and economic activity in both rural and urban communities across the regions. Recent figures published by the Central Statistics Office show that more than three-quarters of all employment created in the first Quarter of 2017 was outside of Dublin.
The actions set out in the Action Plan for Rural Development are the start of an on-going process which will be built on continuously to unlock the potential of rural Ireland and improve the lives of people who live and work in rural communities.
An Interim Progress Report on the implementation of the Action Plan is available on www.ruralireland.ie and highlights the progress being right across Government to support rural Ireland.
