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

My Department will begin the process of developing a rural proofing model this year. It will also engage with colleagues across the Government, with the higher education network that is being established this year under another commitment in Our Rural Future and with other rural development experts as part of the scoping process. This process will also involve engagement internationally, for example, with the OECD, to assess and learn from other countries' experiences of rural proofing models. To be clear, when policy documents and changes come to the Cabinet, I am there, I check them and I raise any concerns that rural Ireland may have. I am the voice of rural communities at the Cabinet, and I have many other colleagues who are also committed to rural Ireland. The point is that we are continually looking at all policy documents through the lens of rural Ireland.

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