Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. I was aware from the previous reply in June that the research had been done. I welcome that, and I welcome the update that the three pilots will be completed in early 2024, at which point the Government will roll out a full policy on rural proofing all documents.

Perhaps the Minister could tell me more about the new enterprise strategy. I think of seaweed and wool, which present fantastic opportunities for indigenous industries that are currently going nowhere. Those are just two examples.

In my constituency in Galway, there is no rural proofing. We have a day centre. This has to do with the Minister’s Department indirectly, given that the day centre was closed three years ago last week. It must be only the second such place in the whole country. No one has assessed the absence of a day centre and the effect of that on the community. In Carraroe, we have no treatment centre, so sewage is going directly into the water. A site was picked, but it is not suitable. Twenty years later and we are still looking into that. Towns and other places cannot thrive without these essential industries.

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