Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to speak tonight. A number of Departments were mentioned over which the Minister does not have jurisdiction. The reason all those Departments were mentioned is that we could not have a stronger advocate for rural Ireland in Cabinet than the Minister, Deputy Ring. Much is expected of him and he is delivering. We can see the work he is doing rural-proofing the policies of every Department. In the current year, he secured a 25% increase in his budget from the previous year. That is the biggest increase in any Department. Given the pressures on housing and health, that is a serious achievement by a Minister in a new Department.

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He had to deal with all the various different challenges of that new Department.

It is important to note in this debate that the Government has a significant plan. It is called Project Ireland 2040 and it aims to put in €1 billion of growth over the coming 20 years with half of that growth placed outside our five main cities.

It is also significant to note the extraordinary extra funding that has been allocated by Government. A total of €1 billion has been announced for the rural regeneration scheme over the coming ten years that will be channelled down into the most rural communities. A total of €24 million has already been announced for 18 communities this year and a further €13 million is to be announced next year. There is €2 billion for urban regeneration over the next decade for towns with a population greater than 10,000. We have seen major announcements that are impacting on towns in need of an incentive. Such towns need to be lifted with funding to encourage people and communities to act.

One of the first acts of Deputy Leo Varadkar when he was appointed Taoiseach was to appoint a full Cabinet position for rural affairs. When we see the various funding streams that have been reopened by this Minister we can see the worthiness of having someone of the calibre of Deputy Michael Ring in Cabinet. When he gets an allocation, he spends it and he ensures it goes to the right areas. He will not leave any money unspent. We can see this from the sports capital programme, which he reopened after a challenging period. When Deputy Michael Ring was appointed Minister of State with responsibility for sport, the country was spending 50% more than it was taking in. Yet, he got the scheme reopened in challenging circumstances.

We have seen 670 rural communities benefit through the town and village renewal scheme. A total of €53 million has been invested so far. The CLÁR programme has been reopened. In my locality, a rural area, Emper national school in Ballynacargy, Westmeath got a new playground. The sub aqua club in Mullingar got a new vehicle. Those in the club are first responders in difficult circumstances in our community. They got the chance to apply for funding to get a new vehicle, which was very welcome. The Minister, Deputy Ring, was at the heart of delivering that. We have seen 500 greenways, blueways and cycleways actively breathing life into our communities through the outdoor recreation and infrastructure scheme. A total of €32 million has been invested. A total of 1,100 rural roads have got key funding through the local improvement scheme. I was in Lismacaffrey at a branch meeting of Fine Gael on Monday night. There is a road there stretching for 2 km that was in seriously poor condition. Councillor Frank McDermott has been almost a generation elected in politics. He said that the past five years have been the most rewarding for him because the funding has come down to give communities a lift up. The road in Lismacaffrey has been fully resurfaced. There are several families living on that road. Under the previous economic shortages they would have been unable to get the capital to inject. What is more, the Minister put a cap of €1,200 on the scheme. He does not ask for a major contribution from families. They are incredibly proud of the infrastructure they have now in their locality.

We have €50 million approved for 1,500 LEADER projects. Let us consider our basic volunteers for our agricultural shows. A total of 1,200 have been appointed to a number of agriculture shows. We have €2 million for 120 agricultural shows throughout the country. Some 900 tidy town groups have received €2.7 million. Those are the most incredible genuine volunteers in our society. They give so much to improve our towns. We have a Minister who has vision. He can see where communities need a hand and a lift up. When we go through those towns and villages now we can see that people are proud to have their villages looking their best.

The senior alert scheme operates in the most rural remote areas. The scheme has been allocated €7 million for 2018. The most vulnerable people in our society get a chance to have the comfort of such a scheme.

Recently we have seen challenges facing rural Ireland. We hear people saying that retail is under significant stress. We are all aware of the challenges facing us in that regard. We can see the changing behaviour of people. Some €6.5 billion was spent online last year while €7.8 billion is projected to be spent online this year. Over 2.2 million Irish people are shopping online. That is because moods and behaviour have changed. This Minister is trying to meeting those significant challenges. When we talk about rural Ireland it is important to introduce balance into the debate. We need to look at all the equations and the choices people make. I live outside Mullingar in a housing estate with approximately 400 houses currently. I see delivery vans going in and out every day because of behavioural changes.

The Minister has been handed a portfolio whereby he has had to grapple with the legacy of towns that were gutted under the national spatial strategy, which was a strategy that failed. He had to deal with ghost housing estates. He sourced all those little funding streams to build life back into these areas. The Government has 60% of all jobs allocated outside Dublin. Again, this is important in terms of breathing life back into our rural counties. We went from a peak of 16% unemployment down to 5% currently.

We hear time after time that rural Ireland is in decline. Yet in the census in 2016 there were 1.75 million people living in rural areas. That is up from 1.5 million 20 years ago. The growth is incredible in rural areas. People need to acknowledge that and be fair about it.

We talk about our broadband coverage. In 2012 when the Government came to office some 30% of farms, premises, homes and schools had coverage. Now, coverage is up to over 74%. There has been significant improvement in that area and we have to acknowledge that.

One point I did not hear much on in the debate tonight was rural crime. It is incredible. When I was elected first in 2016 there was great concern in my locality and in the towns adjacent over rural crime. However, it has improved. I acknowledge that it is not perfect but it has improved because of the 2,200 new Garda recruits. The Garda force is up to 14,000. Operation Thor has had 9,000 arrests nationally and 240,000 crime prevention patrols have been undertaken.

This week the Government has signed a new general practitioner contract. Where is the mantra "No GP, no village" now? The contract is now signed and the IMO has welcomed it. We are now on an upward trajectory in terms of providing good healthcare in our community. GPs are now getting the reversal of FEMPI measures, which is important.

We have also reversed the cuts to farm assist. People are talking about agriculture tonight. Let us bring balance into the debate. The most vulnerable farmers in our society will benefit. We have reversed the cuts they faced under farm assist. While I acknowledge that not everything is perfect, the work currently being done by this Government is marvellous, on balance, when one considers the position that it has come from since 2011 and the road it has travelled. That road has included getting rid of the IMF and getting funding streams. Let us remember that many a Minister sitting on the opposite benches could not spend their budgets in times of unprecedented resources. Now we have a Minister who can spend his budget. He is in Cabinet and defends decisions. He is a voice for rural Ireland and helps to rural-proof decisions as they come through Cabinet. Anyone who is clued in on the ground can hear his voice because they see the decisions that come down and how they affect all strands of society. While one would acknowledge that not everything is perfect, the Government has to meet many challenges. We have come a long way in recent years and much of that is down to the Minister, Deputy Michael Ring.

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