Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the funding that has been provided through the Department of Rural and Community Development. In the past, as the Minister will recall, when the Department of Rural and Community Development had a CLÁR programme, it used to involve a top-up to the line Department's funding. The people I am talking about live down small local roads where no public transport goes but they are entitled to a proper standard of road leading to their homes. The policy is contradictory. We want people out of the major urban areas and less pressure on housing in our major cities and towns. We have the infrastructure in place, by and large, in rural Ireland. With a relatively small investment, that important road network could be brought up to a proper standard.

Does the Minister happen to recall what capital funding in 2021 his Department did not draw down? If there is an underspend on the capital side in his Department during the course of this year, it should be reallocated to councils and allocated specifically for a local improvement scheme. That would see great value for Government investment. I appeal to the Minister again to look at the particular needs of rural communities of all age groups.

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