Ms Martina Earley:

I thank the committee for this opportunity to consult with it. My colleague, Mr. Kehoe, and I are here representing more than 50 local development companies in Ireland, which have more than 2,500 staff and enjoy huge engagement at board level from voluntary activists in rural areas. I will give some information about our network.

The Local Development Companies Network, LDCN, is the national representative body for local development companies, LDCs, in Ireland. We are non-profit, community-based organisations that deliver a wide range of Government-funded programmes aimed at tackling poverty, promoting social inclusion and supporting community and economic development.

Local development companies deliver programmes such as LEADER, the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, the rural social scheme, or RSS, Tús, WorkAbility and the local area employment services, along with a number of key programmes such as the rural recreation scheme, support for social enterprises and support for climate and environmental initiatives.

Local development companies are active in supporting employment and careers in rural areas, through LEADER, SICAP and social enterprise support. They have a role to play in revitalising rural towns and villages through initiatives supporting economic development such as tourism. Participation, leadership and resilience are enhanced through local development structures and facilitated by integrated teams working in local development companies.

The renewal of Our Rural Future also presents an opportunity to secure the future of the rural social scheme, which has become a key lever for rural development and an important vehicle for the delivery of a wide range of rural services. RSS participants are integral to meals-on-wheels services and rural social enterprises, and to the maintenance and enhancement of outdoor recreation facilities, including walks. We would like Our Rural Future to commit to the implementation of all relevant recommendations in the recent RSS review, and to delivering increased top-ups for participation aimed at demonstrating the value of the scheme to rural communities.

While Our Rural Future is a valuable strategic document, it does not reflect the distinctive role that local development companies play in supporting rural development in Ireland. Local development companies have a presence in every village, town and county in Ireland, where they have long-term relationships with communities and community groups, going back 31 years.

Local development companies have considerable know-how in both the general practice of rural and community development and in the specific areas of work encompassed by rural development, such as climate, social inclusion, enterprise and social enterprise development. Local development companies engage locally, regionally, nationally and at European level with key agencies, and they play an important role in connecting individuals and community groups to relevant supports across all of these levels. They are seen by communities and people living in local areas as honest brokers, which is of considerable strategic value, not only with respect to macro issues such as immigration, but also with respect to more parochial issues like obtaining permissive access to private land, which is essential for the development of outdoor recreational infrastructure.

Local development companies have a grassroots reach and capacity to support communities with boots on the ground that is uniquely broad, but this local reach is married with capacity for nationwide collaboration and co-ordination through the local development companies network. They are therefore extremely well placed to play a leading role in the local implementation of national policy.

Local development companies have proven themselves to be exceptionally responsive and flexible, having played central roles in the national response to Covid, Ukraine, Storm Éowyn and the climate challenge.