Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

I agree with the Deputy. We are concerned about rural depopulation and the inconsistency in population growth around the country. That will be a focus of the new version of Our Rural Future, which, as I said, is our scaffolding document for rural policies and programmes in Ireland.

We have a draft document that is available for consultation at the moment. The deadline for consultation is 12 December and I encourage each Deputy to give a formal submission ahead of 12 December, which is tomorrow week. We want to address the areas that are causing depopulation. We want to ensure that we continue the level of capital investment that we have made in counties such as Kerry in the CLÁR areas. Equally we have to engage and ensure that rural services are provided. This is not just a matter for Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht; it is an all-of-government approach. The document within Our Rural Future will seek to capture an all-of-government approach to address challenges Deputy Cahill has just outlined.

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