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

This is a sad morning. I offer my condolences to the family of the young Irish soldier who lost his life in Lebanon. Our thoughts and those of the Government are with his family and with the other brave soldiers injured in this attack, their families and their colleagues in Óglaigh na hÉireann. Our Defence Forces' tradition of peacekeeping with the UN is a proud one and these brave soldiers served in that tradition. In serving the noble cause of seeking to build and maintain peace, they put themselves in danger. We should never forget that. This morning is a tragic reminder of those dangers. One of our soldiers has paid the ultimate price in the service of his country and of peace. His family and friends, his injured colleagues and the Defence Forces will have the full support of the Government and the State at this difficult time.

I thank Deputy Kerrane for raising this question. Our Rural Future is the most ambitious and transformational policy for rural development in Ireland for decades. The policy commits to developing an effective rural-proofing model to ensure that all Departments fully consider the effects of significant new proposals on rural communities and better target the particular challenges and opportunities facing them.

Building on a report on rural-proofing my Department commissioned, I also recently hosted the 13th OECD Rural Development Conference, which provided further valuable insight into how the common challenge of proofing is being addressed in other countries. Our objective is very clear. We want to develop a proofing model that is practical and effective and which encourages meaningful consideration of rural impacts at the early stages of policy development. The approach must be efficient and implementable without being administratively burdensome. It has to add value, making new policies and programmes more effective in rural areas.

As part of a phased approach, my officials have been actively engaging with all Departments in recent weeks with regard to rural-proofing and they have identified several areas in which to work collaboratively in 2023, such as on the development of the sustainable tourism policy, the review of the national planning framework and the development of the cross-departmental national hubs strategy. Under this pilot approach, Departments will consider the likely impact of their policies on rural areas at an early stage in their development and, where necessary, adjust the policy to ensure that the rural perspective is incorporated. This policy approach will underpin a broader approach of policy-making through a rural lens to support rural development and to ensure we maximise the opportunities for rural areas to the greatest extent possible.

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