Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and I could not agree more. I think that certainly by encouraging community participation in planning and implementation of these projects it helps to create a strong sense of ownership and engagement in communities. Certainly we have seen the benefits of this in the past number of years, especially in my own county of Mayo in relation to the valuable projects that have been delivered. One area in relation to themes and priorities is increasing our infrastructure and connectivity and ensuring people have access. I know the Minister has done great work in the connected hubs and the remote working hubs as we broaden the opportunities for people to work remotely. Certainly around the infrastructure piece in rural areas we need to continue to ensure that people can set up businesses, can be entrepreneurs and can live and work in smaller towns and villages.

Second, the promotion of energy efficiency, renewable energy sources and environmentally friendly practices within each community is also an important theme we should look towards enhancing within the town and village renewal scheme,

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