Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 October 2021
46. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the status of the progress made in the 2021 Work Programme for Our Rural Future; the number of measures which have been completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49836/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government’s national rural development policy, Our Rural Future 2021-2025, was published in March 2021 and is the most ambitious and transformational policy for rural development in Ireland for decades.
The policy focuses on long-term sustainability and optimising services and opportunities for individuals, communities and businesses in rural areas over a five-year period.
It commits to the development of annual work programmes, outlining the actions being undertaken across Government each year towards the implementation of the more than 150 policy measures contained in Our Rural Future.
The 2021 Work Programme, published earlier this year, includes actions advancing the delivery of more than 80 per cent of these policy measures.
My Department will be publishing the first Our Rural Future Progress Report at the end of this year which will detail the work done by Government to fulfil the actions in the 2021 Work Programme. Further Progress Reports will follow every six months for the duration of the Policy.
While work on compiling the first Progress Report is ongoing, I am delighted with the level of activity across Departments in recent months to deliver on the Policy’s ambition. This has seen investment provided for rural communities in local transport and active travel, remote working facilities and digital connectivity, and huge levels of support for important projects under the my Department’s Rural Development Investment Programme.
We have also seen, for example, the launch of the agri-food strategy Food Vision 2030 and the Pathways to Work 2021-2025 Strategy, the publication of the Maritime Area Planning Bill and launch of the National Marine Planning Framework, and the formal establishment of Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest at the start of this month. The revised National Development Plan, published last week, also significantly reinforces the objectives of Our Rural Future.
I look forward to providing full detail on progress in relation to the 2021 Work Programme when the first Our Rural Future Progress Report is published later this year.
