Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Last month, the Minister provided an update on this. She said the report was completed and that she hoped to receive it shortly. Will she tell us more about the next steps? She also mentioned this is to be done within the lifetime of the policy, which is until 2025. Will she provide us with more information on the timeframe?

The implementation of a rural-proofing mechanism is very important. The EU Commission has again downgraded the west and north west for a second time, which it now considers a lagging region. That is very concerning. It tells us the west and north west is not getting an equal share of investment and infrastructure. Alarm bells should be ringing given we have been downgraded to a region in transition and now to a lagging region, the only region in Ireland in such a situation. That gives reason for the need of a rural-proofing mechanism, and we must to move on this as quickly as possible.

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