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

In her response, will the Minister outline the next steps in relation to the report, which I presume she has received by now, and the work done by the consultants on that rural-proofing mechanism?

It is important it is a cross-departmental approach and that all Departments are held to account. That brings me back to the point about the emergency situation in the west and north west, where we are now seen as a lagging region. We need to turn that into something positive and take as much additional funding as we can get through Europe and make sure it is invested in the west and north west. We need to turn that situation around.

The Minister spoke about engaging with other Departments and holding them to account. They need to be held to account regarding the region status that is of concern. The rural-proofing mechanism is one way we can turn that around. Has there been a response to the change in regional status, and has the Minister engaged with other Departments in that regard?

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