Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

If the Deputy examines the expenditure of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, he will see it is over €2 billion. I believe it is €2.2 billion. It goes without saying that all of that supports our rural communities and agriculture sector. The amounts pertaining to the Department of Rural and Community Development, which is an important Department, add to the large amounts already spent by other Departments in supporting rural Ireland. That said, the amount of money allocated for rural development programmes under the Department of Rural and Community Development began at €80 million in 2017 and now stands at €202 million. Therefore, there has been a huge increase in the funding streams that go to that Department, but, as I said, it forms only a very small share of the overall expenditure on rural Ireland.

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