James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Ann Phelan, and her officials to this important meeting. It is probably one of the most important meetings we have had this year. It is not often that I find myself in agreement with a member of Fianna Fáil, but 197 post offices closed under Fianna Fáil between 2006 and 2010, as against 24 between 2010 and 2014. The same goes for schools, with 49 closing between 2004 and 2011, as against nine under this Government. The facts speak for themselves.

Like the Minister of State, I hail from a rural community and I have always been proud of that fact. Travelling from Longford to Leinster House, I pass through many towns and small villages that have been desecrated by the recession. It is easy to see rural communities and rural towns that have experienced the negative impact of the current economic crisis. This has affected rural areas more than urban centres.

I prefer to refer to the CEDRA report as the Spillane report. Those preparing it gathered more than 1,000 submissions and held more than 100 public meetings. The Minister of State is well aware of grassroots feelings about what is continuing to happen in rural Ireland, where people are still not experiencing growth in the economy, as is happening in major towns and cities, where there are daily announcements of jobs. This is not the case in rural areas. Surveys show an increase of unemployment of 192% in some small towns between 2006 and 2011, compared to 114% in urban areas. What has been done to date and what plans does the Minister of State have to ensure rural towns and rural villages are on a level playing field with larger urban centres?

At the outset, the Minister of State said it would cost €1 million to implement the report. That is a pittance, because €1 million is not a lot today. It is not adequate funding in the budget; the allocation should have gone into double figures.

Many rural businesses and households have access to very basic broadband. It is patchy in several parts of rural Ireland. In my parish it is non-existent, and people who to try to set up businesses are unable to access the broadband services they require to run a modern business. Throughout rural Ireland, there is no high-quality broadband coverage. The Minister of State presumably experiences the same in parts of Kilkenny. There is widespread availability of high-speed broadband of 50 Mbps in many urban areas. How does the Minister of State provide a commitment that at least 30 Mbps will be delivered to all rural areas by the end of the year? When Deputy Pat Rabbitte was the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, he gave a commitment on this. Is it still achievable?

We are told time and again that rural tourism has huge potential. Are there plans to provide capital investment in rural areas so we can achieve a clear strategy to promote tourism in rural areas? We all know that the Leader programme was hailed as the godsend for rural Ireland over the past decade. It was key to the development of many wonderful projects and the creation of employment in rural areas. Communities that availed of the Leader programme in the past are now cash-starved. When does the Minister of State anticipate funding for the Leader project? Something in the region of €250 million was provided, but its roll-out will be important.

With regard to the pilot scheme, I hope the Minister of State can revisit last week's "Prime Time", which came from the midlands. It featured my county, Longford, and showed the very high unemployment rate, with nearly 20% of the population unemployed.

I believe a pilot scheme should be initiated in County Longford to provide a true reflection of the depredation that has been caused in rural Ireland. I would appreciate it if the Minister of State could answer these questions.