Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Harty for the spirit in which he raised this matter. I work across Government with all Ministers and have to make sure that all legislation and everything that happens at Cabinet is rural-proofed. The Deputy raised a valid point. I have to speak to the Department of Finance, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, and the Government. We set up a pilot scheme for six towns to deal with vacant properties in towns and villages, which is a major issue.

A real difficulty for the retail sector in this country is online shopping. It affects retail, jobs and people. We are coming into the Christmas season and the busiest people all over the country will be couriers, which is having a major effect on our shopkeepers, jobs and rural services. My Department is examining this issue. I gave each of the six towns in the pilot scheme €100,000 and asked them to come back to me with suggestions and ideas. Even before that happened, I looked at a preliminary report. One issue was vacant houses, to which Deputy Harty referred.

Some people will not like what I am about to say. Many on the left think nobody should make a profit. If somebody has a property, there is nothing wrong with the State giving that person support to renovate it and make it available for rent. Some people do not support the ideology I support, but I believe that people are entitled to make a profit if they have properties. If we can encourage people in towns and villages, in particular, to make their properties available for rent, that would help the rental sector and revitalise towns. There is no point in pretending otherwise.

Retail will not return to towns and villages any day soon as long as people are shopping online. Millions of euro are spent online every year. It is a significant challenge for rural Ireland. The town and village scheme, outdoor recreation scheme, CLÁR programme and the urban regeneration scheme have revitalised many towns and villages and created many jobs. There are quality people in every corner of this country. I came into office in 2017 and since then my Department has invested €29 million in Clare alone.

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