Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Having strong, progressive policies that have been developed with a ground-up approach, backed up with resources and appropriate schemes are key ingredients in addressing the issues of rural depopulation and decline, bringing us to a place of positivity and growth in rural Ireland. The rural regeneration and development fund, RRDF, offers the opportunity to rural towns and villages to realise their potential and dreams. This week the Burren Ecotourism Network in north Clare was recognised as a global leader in sustainable tourism by Lonely Planet. This is a serious achievement and I congratulate all involved in this innovative initiative. Work-life balance is a key consideration for the 21st century workforce. The RRDF has facilitated the development of a cutting edge digital hub in north Clare in the town of Ennistymon. This flagship project taps into work-life balance requirements, enabling people to live and work in a spectacular location, as recognised by Lonely Planet. This particular project was jointly funded by Clare County Council and has transformed an unused 9,000 sq. ft building to provide opportunities for private enterprise, public services and tourism information while also providing businesses with access to hot desk facilities and high-speed broadband connectivity.

The town and village renewal scheme has provided a serious injection to small towns and villages throughout the country since it was reintroduced by the former Minister, Deputy Michael Ring, in 2016. Our towns and villages are the heartbeat of rural communities but many are still recovering from the last recession and have now been hit by the fallout from Covid-19. The Minister's establishment of the accelerated measures strand of the town and village renewal scheme has made a real difference and given towns and villages a much needed lift in these extraordinary times. The outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme is another wonderful funding opportunity for the development of new and existing outdoor infrastructure in rural areas such as cycleways, walking trails and blueways. Last year €500,000 was allocated by the Department to further develop the Lough Derg blueway in east Clare to provide a pathway along the verges of the R465 from Bealkelly just outside Ogonnelloe to Tuamgraney, joining the pathway already developed from the town of Killaloe. This vital funding will help to unlock the tourism potential of this beautiful part of County Clare, attracting walkers, hikers, day visitors and overnight tourists and giving a boost to the local economy.

The LEADER programme is another flagship funding stream for rural Ireland. The Clare Local Development Company is responsible for the roll out of the programme in County Clare, helping to deliver vital projects such as the Tradaree Food Hub. This landmark project is the brainchild of Obair in Newmarket on Fergus and it has been an absolute pleasure for me to work with Obair over the past number of years on it. LEADER funding of €500,000 helped to make this development possible, bringing a vacant building in the heart of the village back into use, providing an expanded meals on wheels kitchen and service, a training centre for chefs, incubation units for start-up indigenous food producers and a drop-in centre for the youth of the village. The LEADER programme supports thousands of jobs in rural Ireland. One particular commitment in the programme for Government needs to be honoured. It is important there is engagement and clarity is provided by the Department on the delivery of an interim national rural development plan and on the shape of the new LEADER programme for 2023 and beyond.

Many villages throughout rural Ireland are being held back because they do not have basic wastewater treatment systems. There are numerous villages in County Clare where this is the case, one of which is Broadford. A new wastewater treatment system is fully designed for Broadford, land has been acquired and the project is fully supported by the local authority but there is no funding mechanism to advance the scheme. Irish Water does not want to know and neither does the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage or the Department of Rural and Community Development. I ask that both Departments come together to devise a scheme, in tandem with Irish Water and local authorities, to provide proper wastewater treatment facilities in rural towns and villages.

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