Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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1. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will provide an update on the development of a rural-proofing mechanism, as outlined in ‘Our Rural Future: Rural Development Policy 2021-2025’; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62447/22]

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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I ask the Minister for an update on the development of a rural-proofing mechanism.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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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.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister very much. It is of course important that we get this model right. The work that has been done to date is welcome. Looking at the international perspective allows us to take the best bits, to look at the challenges faced where rural-proofing models are in place and to make sure that we develop the best model possible to ensure that our rural communities are not adversely impacted by policies brought forward by the Government and by State bodies, which I hope will also be included.

This is a proposal that has now been in place for some time. Can the Minister give us further detail regarding the work being done and how many models are on the table? Can she tell us anything about these aspects? On timeframes, when does the Minister hope to see this in place? I would welcome any information the Minister may have in this regard.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As I said, the development of a rural-proofing model is a key commitment in Our Rural Future and work is progressing well on this. In conjunction with other Departments, we have identified the areas we wish to focus on as part of a pilot project. This includes sustainable tourism, which is an aspect that has a major impact on rural economies. We have, of course, launched the national outdoor recreation strategy. This will have great economic benefits. We just have to look at the Limerick greenway or the mountain bike trail in Kinnitty, and this is just to name a few examples. The national planning framework is another important area that has a major impact on balanced regional development, rural housing etc. Turning to remote working hubs, I launched 300 hubs nationwide as part of the connected hubs network. We are doing a lot of work with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Enterprise Ireland and the IDA to promote these hubs to companies as a landing space for multinationals. Cavan has a good example. There is a remote working hub there and PublicRelay, which is a multinational company, came to Ireland, rented a space there and it is employing 25 staff. This is the type of development that is important for rural Ireland.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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I urge that the model be put in place as quickly as possible. I appreciate that much work has been done and that it is important to get this right. It is welcome that the Minister is ensuring that this is being brought forward, because it is extremely important. We have seen the consequences of the failure to not look through this rural lens in respect of the north and north west, which is now a region that is no longer developed in the eyes of the EU. If rural-proofing had been in place, then perhaps we might have had a more balanced approach instead of these low investment figures for the north and north west. When the Minister talks about balanced regional development, we clearly do not have it. Alarm bells should be going off concerning the north and north west particularly. I appreciate that funding is now arriving and that work is under way. This is all welcome, but it shows the consequences of not having something like this in place. It is, therefore, so important that this model is put in place as quickly as possible. I hope we will see this happening next year.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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It is important to clarify that there was no downgrading of the north and western region by the European Commission from the status of a region in transition. This region in transition designation was decided in 2018 based on GDP per capita in the region over the previous three years and has been used to calculate European funding allocations for the region from 2021 to 2027. Separately, then, the European Parliament's Committee on Regional Development, REGI, independently categorised the north-west region as a lagging region. It is using a range of other data, such as productivity and education and skills. What we are talking about here, therefore, are two parallel classifications. Both highlight what we already know, which is that the north and west region warrants targeted support to reach its full potential. I looked at the figures from my Department, and since 2020, it alone has provided funding to this region of €349,749,000. The Deputies and I live in the region and we know how important it is to continue this momentum. It is good that €217 million will be available for investment in the region as well under the European Regional Development Fund, ERDF, 2021-2027.