Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 September 2020
903. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Community and Rural Development and the Islands if she has read in full the report of the Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25300/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am well aware of the content of the CEDRA report, which made an important contribution to the development of rural policy in Ireland in recent years.
The CEDRA report identified, as a priority, the need for an integrated approach to rural development. It recommended, as a priority objective, the assignment of responsibility for the coordination of rural development to a Cabinet Minister. This recommendation was delivered through the assignment of responsibility for rural development to the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs in 2016, and the subsequent establishment in July 2017 of the Department of Rural and Community Development. This Department continues to operate as a stand-alone Government Department, reflecting the current Government's commitment to rural development.
The 2017 Action Plan for Rural Development, which I launched in 2017, built on, and went beyond the CEDRA report. The Action Plan for the first time took a whole-of-Government approach to rural development and included a wide range of commitments for delivery by Government Departments, State agencies, and other bodies to support both the economic and social development of rural Ireland.
Many of the recommendations in the CEDRA report which had not yet been implemented were integrated into the Action Plan for Rural Development. Last year, my Department published a review of the status of the recommendations made in the CEDRA report. It found that many of therecommendations contained in the CEDRA report had either been implemented or had been superseded or replaced by actions set out in the Action Plan for Rural Development. The review of the CEDRA recommendation is available at:
https://assets.gov.ie/10912/1c50e8f6472d4b539d1dc429d8697662.pdf.
My Department is currently finalising the next phase of rural development policy for the period 2020-2025. The new policy will be forward-looking and will build on the progress achieved through the Action Plan for Rural Development. The new policy will seek to strengthen and build resilience in our rural communities and economies, including in response to COVID-19, and it will identify policy measures that need to be put in place to achieve that objective. As with the Action Plan it will encompass a whole-of-Government commitment to rural development.
