Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all Deputies who contributed. Although we do not always agree on everything in this Chamber, the interest in this debate shows that there is a strong passion on all sides of the House for rural and community development. As Minister, I have had the opportunity to witness at first hand the vision, commitment and energy which is present in communities across the country. Those communities, led by hard-working volunteers, deliver a significant amount for society. With the right supports and opportunities, I believe they can do even more. I am determined that all of the policies of my Department now and into the future will support that work.

I point out to Deputy Michael Collins that we have more schemes for rural Ireland than ever before. There is unprecedented investment going into rural communities through schemes such as the €1 billion rural regeneration and development fund, the town and village renewal scheme, the outdoor recreation scheme, CLÁR, LEADER, the community enhancement scheme and local improvement schemes. I increased the budget for the latter to €10.5 million. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae mentioned that as well. The Department of Transport and local authorities also have a role to play in local improvement schemes. The community services programme and many other funds are available.

What I want to see in respect of all of our funding streams is a ground-up approach. A top-down approach will not work. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to rural development. Every community is different and has its own unique needs. Our funding schemes need to be responsive and reflect that. I welcome the feedback from Deputies as part of this debate.

I will try to address as many of the specific points raised as I can. Deputy Calleary raised the issue of matched funding. This year, in recognition of the pressure on local authorities, we increased the grant rate under several of our rural programmes to 90% and, as such, there is only a 10% matched funding requirement.

Deputy Kerrane raised the issue of young people moving away from their communities to cities. The reality is that this trend is evident not just here in Ireland but across the globe, where young people tend to drift towards cities. There is a unique opportunity now to reverse that trend through remote working. I believe the investment the Government is making in the national broadband plan will be a game changer for rural businesses and communities and will mean Ireland is well placed to maximise the potential that remote working presents for regional development.

The issue of the accelerated roll-out of the national broadband plan was raised by many Deputies. I welcome the recent comments of David McCourt of National Broadband Ireland that the plan could be rolled out in five years. That is a very welcome signal because as far as I am concerned it cannot happen soon enough. It is one year since the broadband contract was signed. It is the biggest investment in rural Ireland since electrification. Nobody is questioning now whether it was the right decision to sign the contract. All anybody wants to know is when they are going to get the broadband.

In the meantime, my Department is rolling out broadband connection points, BCPs, across the country, 200 of which will be operational by the end of the year. Deputy Mythen asked specifically about Wexford. We plan to have ten BCPs operational in Wexford by the end of the year.

Deputy Mac Lochlainn referred to e-health initiatives. That is something I am looking at very closely. Under the BCP programme, we will trial several initiatives, including e-health, as well as education and training trials, art and culture trials and, of course, remote and connected working investments. The BCPs cannot simply be stopgap measures. We have an opportunity to establish long-term community assets that leverage connectivity for the public benefit. Working together, central and local government, communities and all Members of the House can make something special of the BCPs.

I welcome the positive feedback from Deputies with regard to BCPs. If Deputies are aware of good locations in their constituencies that may be suitable for BCPs, they can contact the broadband officer of their local authority, who will feed into my Department and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications because there may be scope to add further BCP locations next year.

Several Deputies mentioned the service provided by Eir. I hear about it daily in my constituency. It is not good enough and the company is going to have to up its game big time because at the moment it is letting its customers down. It is as simple as that. I know the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, has made his view on that issue clearly known.

Deputy Dillon raised several local projects in County Mayo under the town and village renewal scheme. I hope to be able to announce the applications successful under this year's town and village scheme in December.

I assure Deputy Dillon that I would be delighted to visit my Department's offices in Ballina as soon as the restrictions allow it.

A number of Deputies raised the issue of job creation in rural Ireland. It is my intention that the new rural policy will contain a commitment to building on recent successes and will set ambitious targets in Enterprise Ireland's, IDA Ireland's and Údarás na Gaeltachta's enterprise strategies for job creation in the regions. I am engaging with the Tánaiste on that, and he is committed to job creation in the regions.

Deputy Cairns spoke about the challenge of climate change and the need for sustainable development. While these are challenges, it is important to point out that there are massive opportunities for rural Ireland in the green economy. For example, there are major job creation opportunities in retrofitting.

Deputy Cahill raised the issue of community allotments. That is another good idea. I support it, because that is how we will get ground-up, community-led projects that benefit the environment.

Deputy Carey spoke about the outdoor recreation scheme and the benefits it has brought to the Lough Derg blueway in his constituency. The outdoor recreation scheme is one of the best schemes we have. Funding has been provided for greenways, cycleways and trails throughout the country. There is a big interest in outdoor activity now because of Covid-19 and I am glad we have increased the budget for outdoor recreation to €12 million next year. Deputy Naughten mentioned the Beara-Breifne Way, and there are opportunities for that project to secure funding through the outdoor recreation scheme. I hope the local authority involved will examine that.

Deputy Murnane O'Connor raised CLÁR. The number of projects approved in each county varies, depending on the size of the CLÁR areas in each county. That varies a great deal. For example, Deputy Martin Kenny will know that all of Leitrim is designated a CLÁR area. On the other hand, Carlow has one of the smallest CLÁR areas in the country, with just over 20% of the county designated as such an area. My Department has commissioned an external review of how CLÁR areas are designated and this will be completed next year.

Deputies Canney and Carey raised water and wastewater services, as did Deputy Fitzmaurice. I will look into that and raise it with my colleagues in government. It is continually raised with me as an issue. However, we are talking about substantial investment in this regard, but I will discuss it with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. Deputy Canney also raised the town centre living report. The report was published on 22 June and is available on the Department's website. I have established an interdepartmental group to examine how we can progress the report's recommendations. I also secured an extra €2 million in the budget so we can expand the project to a further 50 towns.

A number of Deputies spoke about the importance of our front-line community development workers. I fully agree that they do fantastic work in local communities, but they have been impacted by the pandemic. We have sought to support them through the €35 million Covid stability fund, and I am pleased that we secured an extra €10 million for that fund in the budget.

Deputies Michael Moynihan and Mattie McGrath raised the issue of more funding for community centres. There is a €5 million fund that was introduced for community centres earlier this year, so perhaps they should check with their local community development committees, LCDCs. It is a matter of which I am very aware.

The compulsory purchase of vacant properties was raised by Deputy O'Donoghue. On this occasion, I agree with him. I have no wish to see properties becoming eyesores in our towns and villages. I will also raise the issue with the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, as part of the new rural policy.

Deputies Michael Moynihan and Fitzmaurice spoke about the LEADER programme, as did Deputy Harkin. The Government is committed to a transitional LEADER programme and I am considering extending the closing date because a number of LEADER companies have requested it. They will not be ready for the closing date this year, when they cannot announce new projects. They want me to extend it for a couple of months, so I am considering it. I will announce the transitional programme and the moneys we have for it shortly. The LEADER companies need not worry. There is funding available. They have much work to do because there are still projects to be announced. They also have many projects that have been announced but the money has not been drawn down. There will be a great deal of work over the next year and a half in the LEADER companies to ensure that these communities are able to deliver the programmes for which they have received funding.

I believe I have covered many of the points raised by Deputies. I listened to what every Member had to say, lest any Member doubt it. I thank the Deputies for their constructive feedback which we will take into account when finalising the new rural policy. As we look beyond Covid-19, any recovery must be inclusive and benefit all communities. I am proud to lead the important work of my Department, along with the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien. I am determined to maintain the momentum and to ensure we continue to deliver benefits for all communities. I had limited time to respond tonight, but I am happy to talk to Deputies at any time if they have ideas or proposals that could make a difference. I thank them for their contributions.

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