Tony McLoughlin (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I too want to acknowledge and pay tribute to the Minister, Deputy Ring, for the hard work undertaken by him on the newly-formed Department of Rural and Community Development and its staff in supporting and enhancing rural Ireland since its establishment in 2017.

The task of creating a new Department and focusing it in a timely manner in order to have a real, tangible benefit in rural Ireland has been a difficult one but it is something which has been achieved all the same thanks to the efforts of the Minister and his team. They took on the task of improving a community that had been heavily impacted by the economic recession and, as a Government Deputy from a rural constituency, I believe they have done a good job thus far. However, have we got to the bottom of every issue affecting people who live in rural areas? We certainly have not, and there is much work yet to be done.

Those Members in the parties opposite rightly and consistently highlight the serious problems people living in rural Ireland face in our constituencies on a daily basis here in this Chamber and in their local media. It is clear for all to see that we still have a long way to go towards addressing all of the problems facing rural Ireland, be it broadband, beef prices, roads, Brexit, rural isolation and much more.

However, while those of us on this side of the House can acknowledge this reality, we never hear anything from the Members opposite about how the positive developments and schemes implemented by the Minister and his Department since 2017 are actually having a positive effect and helping people come back to live and work in rural Ireland. We never hear anything about any of the positives from the spokespersons of the parties opposite. Instead, we only hear negative comments from the Opposition and, unfortunately, sometimes that narrative sticks and spreads.

Fine Gael, and the Minister, Deputy Ring, in particular, have overseen the reintroduction of many rural schemes that had to be closed in previous years because of the political negligence of other parties. Despite the positive impacts those schemes are having, we never hear those who criticise the Minister's effort welcoming the reintroduction of schemes such as the local improvement scheme or the increased investment in the outdoor recreation scheme. We do not hear them mentioning the millions of euro that have been allocated nationwide for the new town and village renewal scheme. We do not hear them welcoming the increased funding for the CLÁR programme or the rural regeneration scheme.

All of that has all been achieved due to this Government's management of the economy. Nonetheless, it pleases me to see those who are always so critical of the Minister, Deputy Ring, and the Government turn up on the day that funding is being announced or a sod is being turned. When one goes to a photo shoot they would knock one down.

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