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

I thank the Deputy. When I was appointed Minister in this Government I made the decision that the Department of Rural and Community Development would be kept as a stand-alone Department. That is a strong signal of this Government's commitment to rural development. It is a great Department and I am proud to be part of it. On rural-proofing, we need to find the formula that works for rural Ireland. There are many schemes that support rural Ireland that do not provide the same benefit in urban areas. There are a number of different ways of looking at this. Some other countries put it on an advisory footing, some put it on a legislative footing, like in Northern Ireland, and some have it on a parliamentary scrutiny footing. There are a number of different approaches and I want to try to find the one that is most impactful. I will get the draft report when it is finalised and then we will be publish it and we will see what metrics are the best ones to use.

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