Tony McCormack (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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72. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the steps being taken to address rural depopulation and encourage young people to remain in or return to rural areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25970/25]

Tony McCormack (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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What steps are being taken to address rural depopulation by encouraging young people to remain in, or return to, rural areas?

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Our Rural Future is the whole-of-government policy for sustainable rural development. It seeks to ensure that all rural areas are attractive for people to live, work and raise their families in. One of the high-level outcomes set out in Our Rural Future is to increase the number of people living in rural areas. Rural population trends, as we discussed earlier, in line with many of the issues addressed by Our Rural Future, require input from across a range of Government Departments. This can be seen in the range of actions that have been delivered across Government in areas such as broadband and digital connectivity, transport, support for rural enterprises and support for the agrifood sector.

Within my own Department, I am committed to ensuring that schemes and supports in place retain a clear focus on supporting the vibrancy and sustainability of rural areas. In recent years we have seen unprecedented levels of financial support provided under schemes such as the rural and regional development fund, the town and village renewal scheme, the community centre investment fund, the LEADER programme and CLÁR. I will continue to ensure that these schemes are funded and targeted in the coming years to provide vital supports to rural areas and the young people who live there.

We are currently working on a new our rural future policy to run from 2026. We are undertaking a nationwide consultation. This strategy will also be informed by an independent OECD review of rural policy in Ireland, together with the consultation process, which will see us in Tullamore in June. There will also be a national youth assembly on rural policy in September. This will focus on young people in particular, the issues for young people and how to keep them and their families in rural areas. As I said, this has been a major focus in the consultations to date and will continue to shape the development of the new our rural future policy from 2026-30.

Tony McCormack (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The continuing loss of young people from rural areas like Offaly is deeply worrying. The truth is that we are educating our children to live elsewhere. We equip them with the skills, ambition and drive but the jobs, housing and services they need to build a future in the locality are not in place.

This trend is affecting everything - from school enrolments to local businesses and the fabric of rural community life. The longer it continues, the harder it becomes to reverse. There is no silver bullet for this: it demands joined-up thinking and a real commitment across the Government. Will the Minister take the lead in his Department to work with the Departments of housing, education, enterprise and Transport to ensure young people have genuine opportunities to live, work and stay rooted in their communities?

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Absolutely. We will work with all the Departments on this. There is no point in us making this level of investment in rural communities unless we can encourage younger people to come back. I share the Deputy's frustration and agree with what he said about educating younger people. We must ensure they have the opportunities to bring them back.

I point to the level of investment in Offaly in projects such as the regeneration of the Tesco site in Edenderry, which is a €12.2 million investment under the RRDF. A total of €588,000 has been provided in aid to community centres. Some €8.6 million will be provided under the LEADER programme between now and 2027. A total of €250,000 has been provided for town and village renewal in Ferbane. Those are a mix of projects across the county aimed at improving the vibrancy of the economy of the local areas. Collectively, they represent a very significant investment in the county by my Department. We will continue to make those levels of investment.

I look forward to the national rural youth assembly in September to get the views of young people directly on what we can do better to keep them in their areas after they have had their education and travelled, when they are ready to settle. We must let them come back and facilitate them to come home.

Tony McCormack (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to highlight one example which reflects the broader issue. I refer to the sharp decline in the number of young farmers. Farming is still the backbone of rural life, in particular in Offaly, yet fewer young people see it as a viable future. They face high entry costs, housing challenges and limited local supports. This is not just about agriculture, it shows how rural Ireland is becoming less accessible for the next generation. If we do not act, we will not just be losing farmers but community leaders, volunteers and local families that hold rural life together. I urge the Department to recognise that rural regeneration depends on a strong, diverse rural economy, one that includes farming, but also services, trades and small enterprises. Will the Minister ensure these voices and sectors are fully supported as part of his Department's future planning?

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy says, agriculture is still the core of rural Ireland, not just economically but socially as well in terms of the leadership, skills and supply chain that are provided. I will engage with the farming organisations as we carry out the consultation process on Our Rural Future. We will be looking for their input and support.

There have been various iterations of support from my Department, through social enterprise. This year, for example, there has been very good investment in FoodCloud and trying to reduce food waste. That helps rural businesses as well. We have also supported rural social enterprises.

I assure Deputy McCormack that the involvement of young people in rural Ireland is core to this consultation process, because the process would be much weaker without their involvement and input. I welcome any Deputy or Senator who provides a targeted response on how we can support young people to remain in or to come back to rural Ireland to establish a business. In my previous Ministry, through the regional enterprise plans, we had a number of supports for start-up businesses by younger people.