Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response but I am very disappointed with it because I feel he is missing the point. He said he is a rural Deputy but he and I both know there has been rural neglect, and while it has not happened today or yesterday, it needs to be addressed. That is what we are all trying to do. As a rural Deputy, I feel very strongly about this issue and I believe the Government has let us down. I will explain why. The Government has failed to reach its own rural development targets over the past two years. To take job creation, just 12% of the targeted 135,000 jobs outside of Dublin have been created to date. How will the Government get the rest of the jobs - the other 88% - created before 2020? To take expenditure on the Leader programme, just 0.3% of the budget has been spent to date. It is not reaching the ground in rural communities, which are suffering because they are without this money. Rural broadband is a perfect example. The Minister of State talks about areas preparing plans to push things forward. How can one do that in the absence of rural broadband? We are being let down time and time again. These are clear, factual examples. Rural housing targets also have not been achieved and nothing is happening in regard to rural resettlement.

We need to do more. It is about achieving balance among all of the regions. I put it to the Minister of State that not enough is being done and, in particular, not enough rural-proofing has been done on this plan. I urge the Minister of State to look at this again. I brought forward my concerns at the committee meeting in regard to the IDA not tackling job creation effectively in the regions. That needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

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