Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Chairman. This is my first appearance before the committee since he took up his role and I wish him well. I welcome the new committee members and thank previous members for their contribution in the past.

I am very pleased, despite some delays, to be able to attend the committee today to discuss the Revised Estimate for the Department for 2018. The Estimate for this year provides for an overall spend of €231 million plus a capital carryover of €7.7 million. This funding is spread across a range of programmes dealing with rural development and community development, as well as funding for the Charities Regulator. The context for this funding is especially important. Ireland stands at an important point in its development. We have emerged from a devastating recession, during which unemployment escalated and the quality of life of all of our citizens was diminished. Having corrected the national economy we have an opportunity to create a long-term and sustainable future for our people, not just in economic terms but in social and cultural terms also.

The national development plan and the national planning framework provide the overarching framework for Government policy and investment over the next decade and up to 2040. These documents set out an ambition for Ireland in 2040, an Ireland where we expect an extra 1 million people will have been added to our population and an additional 660,000 people will be at work.

Project Ireland 2040 sets a bold vision for national development and identifies ten strategic outcomes to which the Government is fully committed. The plan is a good one for rural Ireland, with many of the strategic outcomes benefitting rural areas across investment programmes in sectors such as transport, energy and tourism. The Department has a key role to play in driving progress towards the strategic outcome of strengthening rural economies and communities in the national development plan. The investments we make through the Department's Vote will be significant in delivering on this objective and enabling and promoting the regeneration of communities the length and breadth of the country. The announcement of the new rural regeneration and development fund in the national development plan is a tremendous boost for rural Ireland. It is significant extra funding of €1 billion over ten years, and signals a new approach and new potential for rural areas. The basis for the Government's investment is to support and realise the full potential of rural communities throughout the country.

Rural regeneration requires a co-ordinated approach to public investment, getting funding and aligning initiatives to enhance the capacity of rural areas to grow substantially. We need to be ambitious and innovative in our use of public funding to achieve the best impact for rural communities. The new fund will provide the means for achieving this. I am consulting with my colleagues in Government on the establishment of the fund and hope to make announcements in this regard shortly.

I am conscious not to intrude excessively into the committee's time to examine the Department's 2018 Estimate, and I would like to allow some time for my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Kyne, to speak, so I will briefly highlight key points on the Estimate.

The Revised Estimate before the select committee sets out the Department's budget for 2018. Gross expenditure of €231.532 million is budgeted for the Department this year. This represents an increase of 42% on the provisions in 2017. Part of the increase is due to the transfer to the Department of the community services programme, which was formerly under the remit of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. The Department's current expenditure provision for 2018 is €144.024 million. The capital provision for 2017 is €87.508 million. In addition, provision has also been made for the capital carryover of €7.7 million for 2017, which will supplement the provision in the Estimate.

The Estimate is broken down into three programme areas. These are rural development and regional affairs, community development and the Charities Regulatory Authority. The total provision for the rural development and regional affairs programme is €93.384 million. The purpose of the programme is to promote and make long-term sustainable economic and social progress in rural Ireland. Key actions include the implementation of the Leader programme, with the investment of €35 million and an additional capital carryover of €5 million; the delivery of a range of rural development schemes, including the rural recreation scheme and CLÁR, for which almost €19 million has been allocated plus carryover of €2.7 million capital; the town and village renewal scheme, which has an allocation of €15 million for this year; and the local improvement scheme, which has been allocated €10 million.

I wrote to the local authorities earlier this year setting out a schedule for the launch of these schemes and community development programmes to allow the local authorities and communities to plan their projects more effectively. I began launching the schemes much earlier than was the case in the past two years, commencing with the launch of the local improvement scheme in February. I also launched the CLÁR programme in March. The town and village renewal scheme and the rural recreation scheme will be announced shortly.

The Department's 2018 Vote provides €133.596 million in funding for a range of community programmes. Two programmes in particular account for the bulk of this funding. More than €43 million is provided for the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP. Last week in Limerick, I launched the 2018 to 2022 programme. The aim of SICAP is to reduce poverty and promote social inclusion and equality through local, regional and national engagement and collaboration. The 2018 allocation will provide for the first year of a new five year programme of important supports for people in disadvantaged communities. This will allow for the key essential front-line services delivered through earlier programmes to be maintained and further developed.

The second major programme is the community services programme, with an allocation of more than €46 million. This programme provides for financial support to community organisations to deliver services through a social enterprise model.

In February I announced a total of €815,000 in additional funding for 12 social enterprises under strand 3 of the programme. I expect to be in a position to announce further funding allocations later in the year.

The community development programme provision also funds local community development committees, LCDCs, and public participation networks. The development of these structures is strategically very important to ensure local voices influence planning and investment decisions at local level. For example, the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, is managed and implemented though the LCDCs in each local authority area. They provide the local knowledge to make sure the SICAP is implemented in ways that address the key issues in local areas.

This is a time of exciting opportunity for the country and I know that members will share my view that, regardless of where people live in Ireland, they should have an opportunity and better choices. There are many excellent initiatives happening in rural Ireland and communities. My Department's role is to help to build on these excellent examples of community involvement, job creation and social cohesion. The Government is committed to ensuring its policies recognise the unique challenges sometimes faced by communities. Our future investment choices must take account of these challenges. I am also particularly mindful of the need to ensure funds voted by the Oireachtas are put to use for the purposes for which they are voted. To that end, I have taken a number of steps to maximise the efficiency of our investment, including direct engagement with city and county managers to ensure more effective and efficient use of funding provided for them. I know that members will share my desire to improve the lives of people who live in rural Ireland and build strong communities, be they in urban or rural areas. I look forward to engaging with members in that regard.

I have kept my remarks as brief as possible to allow for a full discussion on the programmes in place and the funding to be provided by my Department this year. I am happy to deal with questions members may have. Perhaps the committee might allow the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Kyne, to say a few words on his area, including the Charities Regulatory Authority.