Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I hope I will not upset the rules of privilege in any way. I thank the committee for giving me the opportunity to talk about the issues facing rural Ireland now and in the future. Community issues must be central for those of us engaged in serving the public. The Department is committed to doing what is best for all our communities. I acknowledge the time and effort the authors have put into their report, The Rural Challenge. A key principle underlying my Department's activities is to enable communities to identify and address social and economic needs and problems in their own areas and it is always positive to see a community taking a proactive approach in this regard, using the bottom-up approach at its best. I also subscribe to the principle of assisting communities to become independent rather than totally dependent.

There are a number of recommendations in this report in regard to establishing a rural forum, thereby bringing shared interests together to develop policies and engage with communities. The establishment of the commission for the economic development of rural areas, or CEDRA, which I launched last December along with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, has begun this process in earnest. At my request, Mr. Pat Spillane has agreed to be chairman and his enthusiasm and belief in empowering rural areas to help themselves is driving the work of the commission. This Government remains committed to getting people back into employment and creating vibrant communities for our citizens to live in. Over the coming nine months CEDRA will build on the action plan for jobs and the initiatives I announced in the action programme for effective local government, Putting People First, which empowers local government to drive economic development and create jobs at local level.

I established the commission on rural development to look at the differential degree of economic development and the variable impacts of the economic downturn between urban and rural areas. This will be examined in detail by the commission in order to ensure that appropriate measures are identified to inform the development of strategies that will support rural Ireland into the future. The commission is particularly relevant now given that levels of unemployment have increased more in rural areas, particularly in small towns, since the economic crisis began.

During the next couple of months, the commission will undertake an extensive public consultation on the future economic potential of rural Ireland and how best to channel funding and resources between 2013 and 2025. In this regard, an extensive schedule of meetings, including 15 public and 24 stakeholder meetings with agri and community representatives and a further 20 meetings with business and union representatives, making a total of 59 public meetings, will take place throughout Ireland. I will provide the committee secretariat with the details of those meetings.

It is hoped people in rural areas will fully participate in the process by making submissions and attending their local public meeting as there is a central role for the voice of rural citizens in shaping and development of our future policies. The Government needs to integrate the views of rural dwellers in the policy-making process. I have always said that once afforded the opportunity, rural people will engage and ensure their opinions shape the final report which will, in turn, inform their development pathways going forward.

The commission will examine the non-farming aspects of economic development in rural Ireland. This will inform future policy making to support such development. I have no doubt that, as referred to in the report recommendations, the development of the agritourism sector will come through as a key element. The ongoing development of the agritourism sector is of strategic importance for Ireland given its potential to leverage job creation and improve Exchequer revenue from foreign and domestic tourism. We are all aware of the great success of the Great Western Greenway, a 42 km cycling and walking trail from Westport to Achill. The greenway contributes to a projected local economic impact of approximately €6.3 million, consisting of almost €2.8 million in spend by overseas visitors and more than €3.5 million in spend by domestic visitors. These are the type of sustainable long-term projects at which we should be looking.

The Leader accesses of the rural development programme delivered by my Department is designed to directly address many of the challenges facing rural communities, including the need to increase economic activity and stimulate job creation. As the funding is delivered using the so-called bottom-up approach, citizens are directly involved and have a say in their development choices. This year, €105 million has been allocated to Leader. This support has the capacity not only to facilitate access to sustainable employment opportunities in rural areas but also to help support sustainable rural communities and maintain healthy rural economies for business creation and development into the future.

I have a very challenging implementation programme ahead in terms of drawing up and enacting legislation to give effect to the range of reform measures in local government. I refer in particular to the action programme for local government reform and the synergies with planning and the relevant conclusions and recommendations of the rural channels report. The report is silent on the key planning frameworks of regional planning guidelines which are to transition to regional and spatial economic strategies under the reform programme. The focus on reform of regional local government structures under the action programme for local government reform has the overall emphasis on strengthening, modernising and streamlining, which will also have a positive impact on the planning function of regional local government.

I note also the importance placed by the study on improving links between local communities and local government. A key focus of the local government reform is to make local authorities more responsible and answerable to the needs of citizens and communities. The overall aim is to reinforce the role and responsibility of local government as the primary vehicle for economic, social and community development locally. I want it to continue to deliver high quality services to our citizens and communities and to see this done in the most effective and efficient way possible, with a targeting of resources to locally identified priorities. I want to ensure that the local development approach continues to be part of how we respond to challenges. It is important that we build upon and strengthen the links between local government and local development at local level. Better overall outcomes in terms of job creation and economic development can be achieved through greater collaboration between local authorities and other local development bodies, together with the representatives of local business interests and the local communities.

I am pursuing greater co-ordination of all the different Departments, agencies and funding streams nationally and locally as part of a stronger role for the local authorities and community leadership. What is important at the end of the day is the impact of our investments on communities. This is not about structures, rather it is about the harnessing and streamlining of the efforts needed to sustain the economic and social dividend that comes from these investments.

I am also looking at the outcome of the recent summit of the European Council on the mutli-financial framework. There are real positives for Ireland in this, in particular a special allocation of €100 million for the BMW region. We have also secured an additional €100 million for Ireland on top of our rural development share. In addition, throughout the negotiations the Irish team stressed the need to tackle youth unemployment. Ireland will share the €6 billion being made available for countries with levels of in excess of 25%. The next task for Ireland's Presidency is getting the European Parliament's consent to this package. I am confident this can be secured. I believe that local communities have a key role to play in developing inclusive sustainable communities where local enterprise initiatives can thrive and develop into the future. The Government is actively working to ensure that our rural communities grow and are sustainable and vibrant places in which to live and work.

I would like now to draw the attention of the committee to an issue, which is part of the local government reform measures and might be of particular concern to it, namely, the development of the local employment offices. We are working with Enterprise Ireland and local government on the manner in which this will be rolled out at community level. It is hoped to provide a one-stop-shop through which people with ideas can be mentored, monitored and supported in every way possible. I am happy to respond to any questions which members may have.