Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

A Programme for Partnership Government, agreed in May 2016, contains a commitment to task "a co-ordinating unit to work with communities to develop co-operative structures to keep vital local services in place and to retain and develop vibrant local enterprises." This commitment in the programme related to job creation and rural development, and it was planned at the time that the unit and its work would be situated within a new Department of regional development and rural affairs. My Department was established in July 2017 and throughout the Department as a whole, rather than in one unit, various funding programmes and schemes are delivered within communities and in co-operation with them that are supporting enterprise development and job creation in rural Ireland.

The establishment of my Department continues to drive better co-ordination and prioritisation of all Government investment in rural Ireland. Structures within the community sector are also being used to further drive rural economic development.  I can give some examples. On foot of A Programme for Partnership Government the Action Plan for Rural Development was put in place in January 2017. This sets out more than 270 actions being implemented across government to support the economic and social development of rural Ireland. Its implementation is overseen by a monitoring committee, which I chair. The committee meets regularly and publishes six-monthly progress reports.  The community policy unit in my Department has policy responsibility for cross government co-ordination of local and community development supports. It provides guidance and supports to local community development committee structures which have primary responsibility for co-ordinating, planning and overseeing local community development funding.

The framework policy for local and community development delivered by my Department is formed on a cross-government basis and seeks to ensure joined-up approach to community development at a local level. Furthermore, the local action groups through which the LEADER programme is delivered, a significant source of funding for rural Ireland, ensures community engagement in delivery of this important programme. In addition, my Department supports the public participation networks, whose main purpose is to enable the public to take an active formal role in policy making and oversight committees of the local authorities, providing an avenue for community and voluntary groups to participate in the local decision making processes.

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