Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta McGuinness as a bheannachtaí. Táim ag tnúth le hobair leis ar chúrsaí a bhaineann leis an Roinn seo agus leis an nGaeltacht. Our Rural Future was launched in 2021 and over its five year duration has provided vital investment and support, strengthened local economies and improved the lives of many people across rural Ireland. The programme for Government includes a commitment to publish and implement a new rural future policy from 2026. In order to ensure that the development of the new policy is informed by an independent evaluation of the current policy, my Department has commissioned an OECD review. This review will examine not just Our Rural Future, but will also focus on the rural policy framework more generally for Ireland. The review began in earnest under the former Minister, Heather Humphreys, last year and the OECD review group has now met with more than 500 officials and stakeholders across a variety of in-person and online engagements as part of its work.

The OECD is currently drafting a report based on this work, which will be published later this year and which I have no doubt will make a strong contribution to the development of our rural future policy. I look forward to engaging parties across the floor on that report. I also want to engage directly with the public and stakeholders on the new policy. A comprehensive public consultation process has been designed in this regard. The process started with an online survey which is open until Wednesday, 2 April. I encourage all Deputies to help to promote that. The survey findings will inform a series of in-person events which will take place across the country from May onwards, and there will also be an opportunity for parties to make submissions about the new policy later in the year. This level of consultation is designed to ensure that the experience of people living in our rural communities is absolutely central to the development of a successor policy programme.

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