Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teach as an deis seo chun labhairt faoi Ár dTodhchaí Thuaithe and the consultation process that is coming to an end in relation to the development of Our Rural Future, the new national development policy. I will provide the House with an update on what we have delivered under the policy over the past five years but I also want to hear, as we finalise the consultation process on the new Our Rural Future, ideas and thoughts. I thank all who have already submitted to the process.

It is important to state at the outset that my approach and the approach of this Government is founded on a deep commitment to and ambition for rural Ireland. Our vision for rural Ireland clearly puts thriving, vibrant and inclusive rural communities at the very heart of our national development. Without sustained support and investment in our rural areas, we cannot deliver on the economic, social, cultural and environmental development that will underpin the quality of life of all our citizens. As such, rural development remains a key priority for this Government and it is imperative that we ensure that our towns, villages and more remote rural communities are able to maximise their potential now and into the future.

In bringing this commitment to life, Our Rural Future represented a milestone when it was published in 2021. It set out a whole-of-government approach to rural development that has provided significant investment and supports, strengthened local economies and improved the lives of many people in rural communities across Ireland. By drawing together supports and initiatives from across Government, a comprehensive national framework was put in place to deliver clear and tangible benefits to our rural communities over the lifetime of the first Our Rural Future policy.

One of the most high-profile commitments contained in the policy was the delivery of the national broadband plan, which was designed to ensure that rural Ireland would benefit from rapidly evolving developments in digital connectivity. Delivered by the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport alongside National Broadband Ireland, the investment in our broadband infrastructure represents one of the most ambitious and forward-thinking initiatives ever undertaken by the State. I am glad to say that we are delivering on this level of ambition and investment. Based on almost €3 billion of public funds, the plan is delivering high-speed broadband to people all across the country, with an average of 4,500 premises per month being connected during 2025. The main infrastructure build is on schedule to be completed at the end of this year on time and under budget. I have no doubt that this kind of investment is making a real difference in the day to day lives of people in rural Ireland.

Similarly, Our Rural Future recognised the importance of issues such as rural transport. More than €700 million has been allocated in 2026 for maintenance and improvements to regional and local roads, while the Connecting Ireland rural mobility plan has delivered more than 180 new or enhanced services since its launch in 2022, substantially increasing passenger journeys and access to rural bus services. Such investment is improving connectivity between towns and villages, supporting access to employment, education and healthcare - issues that are absolutely central to quality of life in rural Ireland.

Rural enterprise and support for the development of the rural economy was a further central plank of our approach over the past five years. With this in mind, the policy provided the framework for the delivery of targeted growth and support for regional employment and enterprise growth. Initiatives such as the roll-out of the regional enterprise plans model, the work of LEADER groups in supporting local business, and targeted support from local enterprise offices and enterprise agencies, have collectively supported rural businesses to grow, innovate and attract investment. In addition, there have been major policy initiatives developed over the lifetime of Our Rural Future 2021-2025, including revisions to the national planning framework and national development plan; the launch of Food Vision 2030, which aims to make Ireland a world leader in sustainable food systems; and the national tourism policy statement, which will work to ensure that every region in Ireland can continue to benefit from growth in tourism.

My own Department has also been at the forefront in ensuring that a robust policy framework underpins our ambition and our investment. I thank all of the officials in my Department for their work and commitment to this mission. For example, we have delivered the first ever national outdoor recreation strategy which allowed us to fully realise the potential that is inherent in the outdoor recreation sector. Expenditure in the economy linked to outdoor recreation amounted to €2.2 billion in 2024. I am determined to ensure that rural areas can continue to derive the economic, social, health and environmental benefits that will arise from our continued investment in this vital sector. I was delighted to be able to launch the outdoor recreational plans for counties Sligo and Mayo over the past weekend.

In 2022, my Department, in conjunction with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, launched the town centre first policy. The town centre first approach is now being implemented in rural towns and villages all across the country, backed up by significant levels of investment from across Government.

Our ambitious national islands policy, Our Living Islands, was also launched under the umbrella of Our Rural Future. I am glad to say that implementation of the actions within that policy is now being progressed. These policy frameworks clearly demonstrate our commitment to rural Ireland, and our desire to support the narrative surrounding rural areas as centres of opportunity, growth and potential. We have continued to prioritise rural investment in the new programme for Government, and in the specific pledge to build on the momentum achieved under Our Rural Future by publishing and implementing the next iteration of the policy from 2026.

While it is vital that these new policy frameworks are in place, it remains crucial that we in government continue to back up our policies with sustained and targeted investment. Within my own Department, for example, the rural development investment programme, which includes schemes such as the rural regeneration and development fund, the town and village renewal scheme, the outdoor recreation investment scheme, CLÁR, and LEADER, has delivered unprecedented levels of investment in recent years, which I will come back to in more detail shortly.

What is important now is that we build on what we have delivered and achieved under the first Our Rural Future policy.

That is why I have prioritised the development of the new Our Rural Future policy for the period 2026 to 2031. The new policy will be based on a number of central principles that reflect our experience over recent years and also take into account best international practice. The new policy will take a people-centred approach to rural development, placing people who live in rural Ireland at the very centre of our policy development and implementation. It will take a place-based approach that recognises that not all rural areas are the same. It will clearly recognise the interdependence of our urban and rural areas. It is not a matter of rural development or urban development. Both can live together and our approach sees support for rural areas as central to national well-being. The new policy will also continue our focus on a whole-of-government approach. An integrated approach across all levels of government is essential to realising our ambition.

The development of the new policy has been firmly rooted in consultation. Only by talking to and, more importantly, listening to people in rural Ireland can we fully understand what needs to be done, how to do it and when it should be done. With this in mind, an extensive national stakeholder and public consultation process has been in place for a year now. It was based on three linked stages.

First, an online survey sought responses to more than 40 questions covering the wide range of opportunities and challenges that would face rural communities and economies over the next five years.

Second, informed by the survey results, a series of eight public and stakeholder events, including one trí Ghaeilge, were held around the country and online to discuss in more depth issues such as the rural economy, balanced regional development, and the revitalisation of rural places.

Finally, an open, public written consultation was held to seek the views of stakeholders and citizens on a draft policy paper that outlined the key areas of focus for the new policy that have emerged from the earlier engagements. More than 270 responses were received to this call, bringing the total number of participants in the consultation process to well over 2,000. Further bilateral engagements have taken place with key stakeholder organisations. My officials and I have met sporting organisations, including the GAA demographics committee, rural development groups, local authorities, regional assemblies and many others to ensure the widest range of inputs into the policy-making process. It was also vital to ensure that the voices of young people were included in the consultation process. With this in mind, the 2025 edition of the Rural Youth Assembly, itself an initiative born out of the first Our Rural Future policy, was focused on exploring the priorities of those growing up in rural Ireland.

It was important that we included some objective analysis of the current rural policy environment. The OECD was commissioned to undertake a review of the Irish context and, over the course of a number of months, it engaged with more than 500 rural stakeholders and Government officials. That review was published in February of this year and has played an important part in informing the new policy. In it, the OECD acknowledges the substantial progress made in Ireland, both under Our Rural Future and more broadly since the establishment of my Department. Ireland is recognised as being unique among OECD countries in its whole-of-government approach to rural development and for the high levels of awareness and visibility given to rural needs across Departments. The review also provided a series of recommendations and challenges for consideration, notably on supporting rural enterprise, service delivery and improving the effectiveness and use of rural intelligence and data.

I firmly believe that the extensive time and effort, including today's discussions, that have been invested in the consultation process will ensure a more effective and targeted policy for 2026 to 2031.

So far, throughout our engagements, a number of clear issues have been identified as being of primary concern to people living and working in rural Ireland. These include some of the key strategic priorities that underpin rural development, such as increasing the availability and affordability of rural housing and the essential infrastructure and services to support population growth in rural towns and villages. We have also heard loud and clear the need to continue to support rural businesses and strengthen the rural economy, particularly tourism, which came through as having rich potential for growth. There were also strong inputs at all stages of the consultation on the need to build strong, resilient and empowered rural communities while also protecting and sustaining our unique natural environment.

Informed by the results of the consultations and the OECD's review, the new Our Rural Future will be based around five policy pillars, focusing on rural places, rural people, rural services, the rural economy and the rural environment. In addition to the policy setting out the key priorities in each pillar, a series of detailed actions is being developed, which will be outlined in an accompanying action plan covering the initial period until the end of 2028. This action plan, as I have said many times, will be a whole-of-government approach and I wish to place on record my sincere thanks to my Government colleagues who have already come forward with impactful and ambitious proposals for inclusion. I once again use this opportunity to challenge them to be more ambitious in their proposals. A second action plan will follow to cover the remainder of the policy from 2029 to 2031, which will allow for the policy to be responsive to any emerging needs over that time.

Of course, the funding and supports delivered by my own Department will have a critical role to play in the implementation of the new Our Rural Future. These programmes are designed to support the delivery of projects in communities right across rural Ireland that will revitalise our rural towns and villages. Investment will help to provide the necessary facilities and infrastructure in communities to assist in attracting people to live, work and invest in rural areas while aiming to ensure that those rural communities can prosper in the years ahead.

In budget 2026, I secured a €611 million allocation for my Department. This is the highest ever budget allocation for our Department, which demonstrates the Government's continuing commitment to investing in rural towns, villages and communities. Within this investment, the rural development investment programme is continuing to provide an unprecedented level of funding for rural Ireland. Indeed, there are a number of funding schemes currently open for applications designed to directly support our rural communities.

In February, I launched a new call for category 1 applications under the rural regeneration and development fund, RRDF. This fund supports ambitious large-scale projects designed to regenerate rural areas and has allocated total funding of €440 million to 164 major strategic capital projects since 2020. Only in the last fortnight, I was delighted to be joined by An Taoiseach to officially open the new Campas Íosagáin Digital Hub i mBaile Bhuirne, Contae Chorcaí. With investment of over €3.4 million from the RRDF, we will deliver a state-of-the-art enterprise development, training and research facility and new gTeic hub by restoring the former derelict site of Coláiste Íosagáin. Last week, I opened the heritage-led restoration of Market House and Market Square in Portarlington in County Laois. Building on the community-owned Portarlington regeneration strategy, this project will have a transformational impact on the town and bring a strategically placed and historically important building back into use for local people and for local organisations.

Since 2020, over 1,000 projects have been supported by funding allocations of €135 million under my Department’s town and village renewal scheme. These projects are significant local investments that are rejuvenating town centres, driving economic growth and town footfall, combating dereliction and vacancy, and boosting the tourism and heritage potential of our rural areas. I was delighted last Thursday to open the restored Duncannon Fort in Wexford, which was supported by €500,000 in town and village renewal scheme funding. This project involved the renovation of three buildings to provide new public amenities, community buildings and a reception area. This stunning site in an historic location will help deliver on its tourism potential for Wexford and bring tangible benefits to the local community.

Likewise, over 1,500 projects have been allocated total funding of €65 million under the CLÁR programme since 2020. The 2026 edition of CLÁR opened for applications in March, alongside the publication of the review of CLÁR areas committed to in the programme for Government.

That review has resulted in 110 new electoral divisions being designated as eligible for CLÁR funding and brings the total population in areas covered by CLÁR to over 1 million people for the first time.

Earlier this year, I announced an increased allocation of €17.5 million under the local improvement scheme, LIS, to help meet the high level of demand for works on private roads across the country. The €150 million allocated under the LIS since 2020 has funded work on over 3,000 road projects, benefiting over 16,000 people. I have already mentioned our commitment to supporting rural areas as world-class destinations for outdoor recreation. This ambition has been backed up by an investment of over €110 million since 2020 to develop outdoor recreational amenities. I am happy to confirm that I intend to open a new round of funding under this scheme in the coming weeks.

The longest running component of the rural development investment programme is the LEADER programme. Its bottom-up approach to rural development was introduced by Commissioner Ray MacSharry and has now been operating successfully in rural Ireland for over 35 years. I am absolutely sure that everyone in the House will be aware of the vital supports delivered by their local LEADER groups over that time. The LEADER programme forms part of a wider package of EU co-funded supports contained in the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP. Negotiations in relation to the development of a new multi-annual financial framework, MFF, which will include continued rural development investment, are well under way at EU level. It is a priority for this Government that these negotiations see the continuation of a well-defined and fully funded suite of supports for the CAP from 2028. Our farming community remains at the heart of rural Ireland and we must continue to support the development and viability of the sector in producing world-class food and delivering important environmental benefits. Within this context, I am also prioritising the ongoing funding of the LEADER programme and will continue to advocate strongly at home and at EU level for increased funding for the next round post 2028. I acknowledge the work of the Minister, Deputy Martin Heydon, and the Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne, in this process.

The new Our Rural Future policy will commit to continued investment under the rural development investment programme. We are also listening to our delivery partners and to local communities to ensure that we make improvements to the efficiency and effectiveness of these schemes moving forward. In addition to the rural development investment programme, a range of other investment programmes are being administered by my Department that will continue to expand and deliver in the coming years and will directly benefit rural areas. A new round of funding with €25 million under the community centre investment fund, CCIF, focusing on the refurbishment of community centres at the heart of lives in all of our communities, was opened on 26 March. This will build on the €110 million already allocated to date, ensuring that our community centres are fit for purpose for years to come. I acknowledge the work of the Compass community centre in Portlaoise, which I visited last week and which received funding under this programme. I was struck by the range of local groups making use of the centre, and I am committed to ensuring that such local groups around the country have the modern and safe facilities that they need.

Our rural communities are also being directly supported by programmes such as the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, and the community services programme, CSP. Under budget 2026, I was happy to secure increased funding of €4 million for the community services programme, which brings its annual allocation to €59.4 million. Over 400 community organisations now benefit from the increased funding I announced, alongside my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Jerry Buttimer, at the end of last year. We have now opened a new call for applications to this scheme. Budget 2026 also saw funding of €74 million for SICAP and similar social inclusion supports and the inclusion of a new funding stream of €5 million for an urban programme to target particular centres of disadvantage. These developments are helping us to ensure that social inclusion and equality continue to be at the core of the approach to supporting rural communities.

One of the major achievements under the first Our Rural Future was the substantial investment in remote working, particularly the establishment of the connected hubs network. Having achieved the target of 400 hubs on connectedhubs.ie, and to further leverage the benefits of hub working, we will continue to develop and expand that network.

Táimid ag leanúint freisin lenár n-infheistíocht sna ceantair Ghaeltachta agus inár n-oileáin amach ón gcósta. Mar shampla, tá obair ar siúl anois ar fhorbairt cé nua €35.7 milliún ar Inis Oírr. Tá an tionscadal seo ar cheann de na príomhghealltanais a rinneadh faoin phlean forbartha náisiúnta, PFN, agus is í an infheistíocht is mó a rinne mo Roinn féin riamh. Trí infheistíocht straitéiseach, nuálaíocht, agus comhpháirtíochtaí áitiúla sna seacht gceantar Gaeltachta ar fud na tíre, leanfaidh Údarás na Gaeltachta lena n-obair le cinntiú go mbeidh fostaíocht agus deiseanna forbartha ar fáil i gceantair thuaithe imeallacha. I measc na n-infheistíochtaí PFN i dtionscadail Ghaeltachta, tá maoiniú á chur ar fáil i gcomhair Ionad Gaeilge nuálaíoch ar Shráid Fhearchair i mBaile Átha Cliath agus i gcomhair forbairt scoil samhraidh Ionad Oideachais agus Óige Indreabháin i nGaeltacht Chonamara.

I eagerly anticipate the new Our Rural Future policy. There will be an expectation concerning the document and we will continue to try to deliver on the ambitions that come with that expectation. My officials are working intensively with Departments across the Government on the new policy, with a particular focus on meaningful and ambitious commitments in the first action plan, which will cover the period to 2028. The policy and the associated action plan are nearing completion. I will continue to work with colleagues to finalise outstanding issues in this regard before bringing a draft of the policy to Government ahead of the summer.

I conclude by addressing the narrative that rural Ireland is declining or, worse still, dying. This evidence does not support that narrative, nor does the ambition of many of those living in, and working with, rural communities. Last week's publication by the Central Statistics Office, CSO, of the Urban and Rural Life in Ireland 2025 report shows that over one third of our population is living in a rural area, with the population of highly rural-remote areas increasing by 6.4% between 2016 and 2022. This growth is posing challenges in terms of housing, including in Gaeltacht areas, infrastructure and services, which we in government must address. Employment in rural areas is strong, incomes are rising and for many families, rural Ireland is providing a much better overall quality of life. These findings align with the analysis of the OECD, but I am not comfortable enough nor naive enough not to know there are significant variations within these statistics. There are areas facing particular challenges that we must recognise and act on. Ensuring the sustainability and attractiveness of all rural areas is my key priority, the key priority of the Government and will be the key priority for the development of our new Our Rural Future policy.

I am very proud to be from rural Ireland and very proud to represent rural Ireland. Our rural areas must be and will always be at the centre of who we are as a country. While much has been delivered, my commitment is to ensure that we build on the last five years, continue to invest in our rural communities, continue to engage in our rural communities and continue to ensure a whole-of-government approach to deliver for rural Ireland. I have no doubt that this commitment is shared across the Chamber.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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We are here discussing the consultation process, but if we are being honest about it, rural Ireland does not lack for consultation or for strategies and plans. What it actually lacks is delivery, urgency and alignment across Government policy. This is where the Government has failed.

The Minister is the one tasked with rural-proofing this Government. He is meant to be the voice at the Cabinet table defending rural Ireland, so this is a fair question to ask him. Where was Our Rural Future when the national development plan doubled down on urban concentration and left rural communities fighting for basic investment? Where was the Minister when housing policies stalled again and again and rural housing delivery was effectively frozen in large parts of the country, an Ghaeltacht san áireamh? Where was the Minister when budget decisions reduced investment in rural development, including cuts to LEADER? Where was the Minister when families in rural Ireland were hit first and hardest by the fuel crisis, calls for meaningful support were ignored and workers, farmers, contractors and hauliers were being demonised? Where was the Minister and this policy when fishing communities faced devastating quota cuts? Where was Our Rural Future when post offices were being closed right, left and centre, when GP clinics were being closed, when the, at this stage, annual school transport chaos was unleashed across the State every August and September, when LEADER funding was being cut, when local roads budgets failed to keep pace with construction inflation, when ambulances and gardaí were rarely available on time and when a generation was locked out of home ownership and sent packing to Dublin or Dubai?

Rural residents have seen no evidence of a Minister or indeed a strategy at the Cabinet table successfully arguing its case or actually standing up for communities. The reality is this; there is a growing gap between what Government says about rural Ireland and what it actually does. Last week, former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the quiet part out loud. In doing so, he belied an approach that has underpinned Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s attitude to rural communities for far too long in this State. The consultation paper published last year contained no targets, timelines, funding commitments or clear delivery mechanisms. It asked communities for their views but did not set out how any of these things will be delivered. That reflects a wider problem as far as I am concerned. The programme for Government, national planning framework, national development plan and housing plan are not aligned with the stated ambition of the consultation, the last strategy or indeed the Minister's strategy of supporting rural Ireland. In fact, any objective analysis would suggest they are working against it. The OECD report on the old rural policy made this clear. It has identified centralised decision making, weak local delivery capacity and a lack of accountability as structural weaknesses in Ireland’s rural policy. It also rightly identifies housing as a central determinant of rural development. That is a core issue that has long been ignored.

Housing is now the defining challenge for rural Ireland. Communities are losing young people, population decline is accelerating, local services, schools and clubs are under pressure, the GAA’s own national demographics report confirms that many rural communities are already experiencing decline that is undermining their long-term sustainability, and yet housing delivery remains concentrated in urban areas, insufficient in scale and misaligned with rural needs. Rural Ireland is facing a double burden; too little new supply and often poor existing housing stock. At the same time, infrastructure deficits are holding communities back.

Water and wastewater capacity is preventing development in towns and villages, transport options are limited, road networks are underfunded and digital connectivity remains inconsistent. Without addressing those fundamentals, no rural strategy will succeed. The question is not about consultation; it is about whether Government is willing to change direction. We in Sinn Féin have made our position clear any time we have spoken about this, which has been often. Housing must be central to the next rural strategy. That means annual rural housing delivery targets, a serviced-sites programme that works and a sustained investment in water and wastewater infrastructure. It means aligning housing delivery with employment patterns and regional economic development and ending the contradictions between planning policy and rural sustainability. We have put forward plans for additional gardaí, enhanced plans for primary care and meaningful steps to reduce deprivation and growing energy poverty. We need clear targets, defined timelines, assigned responsibility and annual reporting to the Dáil in the new iteration of the plan. Without that accountability this will simply be another strategy that describes problems rather than solving them. It will be another thing to gather dust on top of the shelf somewhere. This requires an infrastructure-first approach. Investment in water, transport and connectivity must come ahead of and alongside development, and there must be targeted supports for Gaeltacht, island and coastal communities, recognising the unique pressures they face. Rural island does not need another consultation process that leads nowhere, it needs leadership at Cabinet, alignment across Government, delivery and an about-face from this Government.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have failed rural Ireland. Along with Independents, they pay lip service to these communities but turn their back on them time and again. That is the reality. There is a real anger out there that has been simmering below the surface. It is an anger that boiled up when the Government abandoned people in the face of the fuel crisis. When people screamed out for help, it turned a deaf ear. However, this did not start this month or even this year. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been chipping away at rural life for decades. Rural Ireland is being closed down one basic service at a time: banks, post offices, Garda stations, you name it, the basics any community needs to survive. Pick a way to measure it such as wages, infrastructure or opportunities, whatever way you cut it, people in counties like my own of Donegal are being left behind. People do not need to look at statistics; they feel it every day. They feel it when they are talking to their child on Zoom who is in Australia, and when they are walking down the village that gets quieter every year.

Last week, the mask clearly slipped last week when the former Fine Gael Taoiseach looked down his nose at rural island, when he accused the hard-working people of rural Ireland of sponging off the State. These are the people who get up in the dark and head out in all weathers to make sure there is food put on his table. Leo Varadkar’s comments need to be a turning point where any doubt is cast aside that the decline of rural Ireland is Government policy. However, let me say, policies and Governments can change and the tide can turn. An Ireland of thriving rural communities is possible where people live, work and build their own homes in their own communities, where we value our family farm and contractors and where young people do not feel there is no future but are enabled to live their lives in the communities where they were born, like the generations before them were able to do, where our Gaeltacht and island communities is thriving. This is not about narrowing people's horizons but broadening them. It is about breathing life into the heart and soul of Ireland, the communities that make up our country. Rural communities, just like any other, deserve to survive and thrive.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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Everybody in this place knows what a district electoral division, DED, is. A district electoral division is usually half a parish. Everybody in politics knows about them and how they work. When the Central Statistics Office does an analysis it does an analysis of how many people there are per square km. It looks at them in DEDs. In many of the parishes around me, there are approximately 20 people per square km. That is the average. When we look at international statistics, they all tell us that if there are fewer than 35 people in an area per square km, that area is in terminal decline. There are many areas in my part of the world in terminal decline because the people are not there. The reason the people are not there is because the services are not there and there is no emphasis to try and regenerate those communities. Sometimes when you go to a place that is near a town, it has a better population of 35 or 40, but in many of them they are down at the level of 20. When they are down at that level they do not have enough people to keep the pub going at the crossroads, and the post office and the school are going to close. The local football club is in trouble. All of these things need more people, and to have them we need more people living in rural areas, and that means housing in rural areas. Housing is the key thing we need to look at. If we do not put practices in place - in a lot of these places there are no towns and we are talking about one-off rural housing - to allow people to come and live in their community then we have serious problems.

Last week, the Government brought in a notion it was going to allow people to build a little house at the back of the house, in the garden. Many people in rural areas are asking why they are allowed to build a house behind the house to put the auld pair into, but they cannot build a house for themselves in the field next to it. The Government needs to cop on that that is a problem.

We need to recognise that people from rural areas want to come back there. They may go away and get educated and get good jobs and live in the city for a while, but they want to come back and live in their rural area, send their children to the school they went to, and for their children to play with the football club they played for. Policies and opportunity stop them from doing that. If we are going to turn this around the Government has to come up with policies which will actually deal with those issues. The primary one it needs to come up with are policies that deal with ensuring people can build a home in their own community. I have given the Minister the statistics. Go to the DEDs where there are fewer than 35 people per square kilometre, and those are the areas the Government needs to put the emphasis on to ensure we can do something for people who live in rural areas.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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I acknowledge the consultation process on rural future policy. I raise the delay in funding for vital Local Link services in rural Waterford, particularly affecting Portlaw, Kilmacthomas, Mahon Bridge and Lemybrien. These services were expected under the National Transport Authority’s “Connecting Ireland” plan to be properly funded. However, communities in Waterford are now being told they may have to wait until 2027. This is a major setback for rural Waterford and communities which have waited long enough for proper public transport. My colleague, an Teachta Conor McGuinness, spoke earlier about the simmering anger in rural Ireland because of the dependency on the car. We do not have public transport, we have rising fuel costs, a Government that is not doing enough and these types of setbacks with Local Link services not being properly funded. My colleague, Councillor Catherine Burke, has been very clear on this and has described this delay as a major set back for Waterford and the Comeragh district in particular. She is right. This is not a minor inconvenience. It is about whether people can get to work, students can get to education, older people can remain connected and whether those without access to a car can attend medical appointments or reach basic services. I imagine the Minister agrees Local Link is a lifeline. In rural communities, public transport is not simply about convenience. It is about equality, independence, inclusion and ensuring people living in villages and rural communities and areas are not cut off because they do not drive or cannot afford a car, or no longer feel able to drive.

5 o’clock

We cannot speak in this House about balanced regional development, climate action, reducing car dependency and tackling rural isolation while at the same time allowing essential rural transport projects to slip to 2027. Waterford needs these services now. People of Portlaw, Kilmacthomas, Mahon Bridge, Lemybrien and, I imagine, many more rural communities in Waterford, across the south east and across the State deserve certainty and not delay. I support the call of my colleague, Councillor Catherine Burke, for Waterford City and County Council and, indeed, the Comeragh district to write to the National Transport Authority to lobby the Minister for Transport. I am appealing to the Minister to do what he can to raise these issues with the relevant Ministers to make sure those rural communities in Waterford get the Local Link services they deserve.

Natasha Newsome Drennan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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There is a certain irony in the Minister launching a consultation on his rural future policy just weeks after we saw widespread protests across rural Ireland and his colleagues in government flatly refused to listen to, or engage with, the very people from struggling rural communities. Communities like mine in south Kilkenny do not need more strategies or consultation processes. We need the Government to start delivering for ordinary people.

Only recently, for example, we got the announcement that a vital bus route connecting rural villages is to be stopped from the beginning of May. After that, Bus Éireann reviewed the route and confirmed it meets the demand requirement but Bus Éireann is still planning to cut this service despite the review. The Minister’s backbench colleague came out and told people there was great news – he had got the bus sorted. That was a load of bull. Rural communities want more than the crappy promises of some backbencher. They want, and they deserve, a commitment from the Minister and Bus Éireann that these services will be continued and protected. This was a service used by workers, students and the elderly. So much for the Minister’s talk of enhancing public services in rural Ireland.

We have seen it time and again - big strategies with long lists of action points but little to no follow-through on delivery. Access to housing is the number one issue in rural Ireland. Those with land are being locked out of building because, across Carlow and Kilkenny, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have completely failed to invest in fit-for-purpose water and waste infrastructure. Over the weekend just gone, businesses in Ferrybank had to close shop, and today they are closed again, because of these failures.

People want to live in the community they grew up in. They want to know that their children have access to creche places, school places, a local GP and local sports clubs - a sense of community. I do not think any of those are unrealistic expectations but the reality is that, for so many in rural Ireland, they are. If you live in rural Ireland, all of those - a GP, sports clubs, a school place, especially if your child has additional needs - are limited resources.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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Deputy, time is up.

Natasha Newsome Drennan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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The number of parents forced to travel long distances to secure a school place for their child is shocking. It is deeply wrong that children are not provided for in their own community. People in rural Ireland are sick of being left behind by this Government year after year.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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Now we have the Labour Party slot. Deputy Mark Wall has ten minutes.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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I welcome the opportunity today to speak on the Our Rural Future policy consultation. Over the last number of years I have been involved in and seen the positive impact that investment in rural places can have on towns, villages and rural communities throughout Kildare South. We are seeing investment in places like Athy, with Emily Square and the Shackleton Experience which the Minister was down to visit himself and which he officially opened. The Athy food hub obviously must be mentioned as well. There are more projects coming up, like the fabric and textiles design hub in Monasterevin. However, there is scope for much more investment to ensure rural communities are thriving and that they are places that people want to stay in and continue to have pride in.

In my own submission on behalf of the Labour Party, I highlighted the need for the Government to continue to provide funding for converting old schools and community buildings into community hubs, public libraries and remote working hubs, given the lack of vital infrastructure in some rural towns in south Kildare. As the Minister will be very much aware, Kildare has one of the fastest-growing populations in the country, yet the infrastructure is simply not enough to meet the demands of the population. Without doubt, utilising old and out-of-use buildings will help address this infrastructure gap. Many of Ireland's community halls are decades old and in urgent need of modernisation to allow them to continue to be a focal point for communities. The Government should expand community hall grants to include older buildings, and local authorities should carry out an audit on these buildings detailing their current state, use and potential for refurbishment and upgrade. This is something my own local authority, Kildare County Council, has carried out.

A prime example of what needs to happen in rural Kildare is the Clongorey and District Community Association. Yesterday I had a chance to visit this vibrant rural community and meet Sandra and Maureen. The Clongorey and District Community Association is a volunteer-led, not-for-profit organisation that plays a crucial role in bringing people together in their rural community in Clongorey, Newbridge, County Kildare. For over 25 years, the centre has supported a wide range of activities, including sports and fitness through Clongorey FC and local walking and running groups, social and educational activities such as bingo, card games, a history group, book club and many other areas including youth development and introducing children to digital skills and, most importantly, introducing them to community life as well. Its long-running fixtures include a St. Stephen's Day charity walk and run which has operated for over 30 years. However, the reason I was there yesterday is that its current facility, a second-hand Portakabin, is now in serious disrepair and no longer fit for purpose. Their vision is to redevelop the centre into a modern, accessible, and energy-efficient community support centre that will enhance inclusion, promote health and well-being and support lifelong learning and community engagement for all ages. As a key next step, they are seeking to undertake a feasibility study to identify the most effective and sustainable way to deliver this redevelopment and ensure it meets the growing needs of their community. I ask the Minister and the Department to support this desire and allow this great community to future-proof their association, which is replicated throughout south Kildare.

There has been a lot of commentary this evening on the need for rural housing. For many months now, we have been informed a new rural housing policy is to be announced by the Government yet I continue to deal with rural people who have grown up in the area, including farming communities, who are unable to get a one-off house for themselves. The issue of serviced sites has been raised already. Serviced sites could be a solution for many rural communities. They could sustain the schools. Today I dealt with two schools in County Kildare which are unfortunately losing staff because their numbers are decreasing. Even with the population of Kildare, this is what is facing so many rural schools. It is simply not sustainable for these rural communities. The local GAA clubs are suffering, as are the local communities.

A lack of proper infrastructure across rural communities is becoming a major barrier to creating strong and diverse rural communities, particularly in transport, childcare and schools, as we mentioned in our submission. As TD for Kildare South, I have been frequently highlighting the carparks that Ireland's motorways have turned into, particularly along the M9, M7, N7 and M50. The Government must greatly expand, and invest in, rural public transport. I agree with what the Minister said in his opening statement - that rural transport is central to the quality of life in many rural communities. In fact, it is a gamechanger. Some of the rural transport that has been provided in my own area has allowed those in rural Kildare to obtain employment in Kildare Village, for example. However, we have seen that stalling, as others have mentioned. I have been engaging with the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, on a number of routes that are not taking off. The route 893 will hopefully service the village of Suncroft has been promised for almost two years but not yet delivered. Now we are being told it will be a number of months still. This will be a gamechanger for the village of Suncroft. We have to see continued investment in, and no stalling on, these much-needed rural transport services. As the Minister said himself, it is central to the quality of life in those rural communities. There is also an urgent need to look at official bus stops and bus shelters throughout rural communities. These must be addressed. It is simply not good enough for people to be standing on the side of the road, which I see every morning when I come to Dáil Éireann, because of the lack of bus stops.

I welcome that the local and community improvement scheme has seen investment, but it must go further. I previously raised with the Minister the issues with people who have one holding or are funding their own properties for farming. They are not getting the benefit of this grant. I ask the Minister to look at that because I believe that can make a difference to those holdings.

Of course, I have to use the opportunity to tell the Minister about the many people who have been in contact with my office about the childcare crisis across Kildare and areas that are becoming childcare deserts, like Kilcullen, Newbridge and Kildare town. A lack of available childcare places has now become the biggest barrier for parents trying for childcare or after school places. I frequently raise this with Government and the Minister for children. Parents are having to reduce their working hours or give up work entirely. In some cases, parents have raised concerns that they may have to move away to be closer to family due to the lack of childcare. This is a massive issue in rural areas and it can lead to people having less disposable income to spend in the local area and could lead to depopulation of rural towns and villages. The Government is telling us that it is coming up with eight pilot schemes for a public childcare model. I encourage the Minister to talk to the Minister, Deputy Foley, about ensuring that some of those pilot schemes are located in rural areas so we can see people remain where they want to remain in their local communities.

I have also seen the huge benefit of the senior alert scheme, which I want to raise with the Minister again. He has heard me raising that before. These schemes are a must for our older population in rural communities. In County Kildare, we have been involved in two pilot schemes. One was the provision of lights for older people. I ask the community section to look at that nationally. The second was the provision of home alarms for older people to ensure that they are safe in their homes and that children ensure that their parents are safe in their homes too. It has definitely worked in rural south Kildare and I believe it can work nationally too.

The lack of gardaí in rural areas has been mentioned. The unfortunate closing of Garda stations has meant that many rural communities are facing an increase in rural crime. There were pilot schemes relating to CCTV cameras in rural areas, which we should expand again, particularly near motorways, where there is a significant increase in crime rates and has been for a long time.

I am proud to be from rural Ireland and from rural Kildare. One of the biggest issues that I face, day in, day out, and which I faced yesterday, is trying to explain to people the number of grants and sections in the Minister's Department and where they should actually go. I call for an easy to explain dialogue or diary, however the Minister wants to put it, for rural communities, so that they can actually talk to someone in Pobal or the community section about what grant will suit them. Yesterday, when I spoke to those people from Clongorey, they had already contacted four or five different sections relating to community in Kildare County Council. They were asking me where they should go next. I believe the community section should provide that portal to ensure that when a rural community is looking for investment, they can just bring up one person or look at one website, and get the information they require.

Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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As the Minister knows, I am proud to be a rural TD and to come from a rural part of Ireland, representing some of the most vibrant, passionate, dedicated and ambitious communities in this country. There are challenges to being from and living in rural Ireland. The Minister knows that better than most in this House, with the many years of service he has given as a public representative representing a rural constituency with large urban bases.

I start by addressing some of the grants and supports available for rural Ireland which the Minister covers in his Department, including CLÁR, LEADER, RRDF, the town and village renewal scheme and the community centre investment fund. The town and village renewal scheme currently has works ongoing in Carrig in the north of my constituency, where a village park is being built. I visited it a number of weeks ago. The Minister, his team and his office were a huge help in getting that project started. The community centre investment fund has been an enormous investment of over €110 million, according to the Minister's speech earlier today. It has seen massive improvements in our community centres, particularly the likes of rural parish halls. It is not just rural funding but is important to that rural parish hall, or to the likes of Ballymackey, which the Minister previously invested in, and Terryglass hall, for which he announced €86,000 last year.

There is a challenge in rural Ireland at the moment when it comes to population, services, and the changes of lifestyle, habits and how people work and live, but that is a challenge that we are facing up to as a Government, not shying from. Earlier, the Minister mentioned the interdependence of rural Ireland and urban Ireland, which is a very important point, because it is not about one being against the other. It is not that, as a rural TD, you only represent rural Ireland. I represent urban towns as well and they have different challenges, but the interdependence of Our Rural Future is important and should be recognised.

I would like to raise a couple of issues where I see challenges and think we can see some improvements over the next years under this Government. I previously raised the first with the Minister in the Chamber and still think it is important. That is funding for our playgrounds, particularly in our rural villages. There are options like CLÁR and LEADER, but there is no specific scheme for playgrounds, which is a challenge for many communities, particularly Cloughjordan and Silvermines in north Tipperary. The price of building a good, fit-for-purpose, modern playground is high and is increasing. While there are some grant supports, we need to look at where we get a purposeful grant for playgrounds. When there is a community and a committee that is really dedicated to getting one in, when the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle is that grant, there is space for us to do a little more.

I again mention to the Minister the community cafés and shops, which he will be very familiar with, through the hard work and dedication of Leonie Maher and Mary Fogarty in Loughmore. To give a synopsis of the community cafés and shops in my constituency, we have Lorrha, Cloughjordan, Moneygall, Loughmore, Moyne, Ballingarry, Annacarty, Freshford and Muckalee. They are not all in my constituency, but they are all very important to the people in my constituency. They are a vital social and community outlet. I know the Minister has been working hard with that national body and with me. I appreciate the time and attention the Minister has given to them to date.

Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Our Rural Future policy consultation process. It is a further step to re-addressing and rebalancing the regional balance, which is so vital for all of us in this country. It is essential if we are to provide better services and better infrastructure for not just our rural areas but also for our rural villages and towns.

I have listened to comments from the Opposition over the last ten or 15 minutes. They have spoken about how we have failed rural Ireland and let it down, yet Deputy O'Meara pointed to a number of grants that have been available. I can also point to a number of grants and policies that we have established over the last ten years that have ensured that rural Ireland is not dying, is not dead and that we will always have rural Ireland's back. Let us look at the sports capital grants, the rural regeneration and development fund, and at the roll-out of broadband that has really brought remote working to rural towns and rural areas and takes the stress off many families from their daily commutes which now maybe only exist for one or two days. That does not point to a failure in rural Ireland. That points to success.

I refute completely what the Opposition said about our policy and our commitment to rural Ireland, but there is always room for improvement. I look at County Louth and, where it comes to transport, I agree with Deputy Wall. There seems to be a slowdown in the process and roll-out of rural transport. County Louth still does not have any links from east to west of the county. That means the villages of Clogherhead, Dunleer, and Ardee cannot connect with each other except by car. Surely in this day and age, the county which is the second most densely populated in the country should have rural transport which links from east to west.

We have also spoken about housing. I concur with most of my colleagues on rural housing. We have been restrictive about facilitating families, in many cases, to live in the communities where they were born and reared. This is not limited to farming families. I, as the daughter of a farmer, was lucky. I got a site and built my bungalow but many of my friends in the community were refused. They have the same rights as I have. They grew up and wanted to continue to live in Togher parish but were denied by restrictive policies in regard to rural housing. We must re-address that. It is not just about creating a community that will continue and thrive into the future; it is also about keeping that community connected and united. They are the people who service the clubs, offer their time and volunteer. They are also the people who take care of their families. As we know, many families have to row in where we have not been able to provide the supports. There are families providing care to their parents and siblings seven days a week. There is never a Saturday or a Sunday off. They are providing those services where we have not been able to provide them yet. These people are essential to our communities and have a right to build a house in the community in which they have lived. We must re-address that balance.

We must also address how we deal with housing for older people. We must have a policy that is proactive, progressive and very fast. Our population is ageing and we will very shortly - within ten to 15 years - have an ageing population whose housing needs are not being met. We have rural towns and villages and have provided a series of grants to regenerate these towns and villages but we also have to think about reviving our town centres and bringing people to live there - not just young people but also older people. Would it not be wonderful to go into the village of Dunleer or into Ardee or Castlebellingham and, because of the way we have changed the policy and facilitated it through incentives and central planning, older people could walk out their front door, get the paper and meet the people in their community? Isolation is a fear many older people have. By doing this, we would provide community and services. To walk down to their GP would be a wonderful thing for many older people.

We often hear from our constituents that they are living in houses that have outgrown them. They are tottering about in the houses, they are there on their own and they would like to move but do not want to move out of their communities. We must address that policy in tandem with our rural housing policy. It is not just about the young families who will support their families; it is also about ensuring people live in their homes longer, stay healthier and live better. We must also address that policy.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. When I was coming in this morning, I was reflecting on this debate and what someone with an obvious city accent would say to people living in rural Ireland. However, the truth is, when you think about it - and the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, Deputy Clarke, knows something about this as well - there is more that unites us than divides us. The same challenges exist in the town and village as in the city. It is the same failing, tone-deaf, out of touch Government that governs in the village, the town and the city. It is the same refusal to acknowledge the lived reality of people, whether they live in the town, the village, the townland or the city, that is at the root of many issues facing people.

It suits the Government down to the ground to have a manufactured situation where rural dwellers are on one side and urban dwellers are on the other. It would suit the Government all the way to Sunday if that were to be the case and if people were to be taking potshots or squabbling with each other. The truth is the people who live in rural Ireland are being let down, failed and ignored by the Government every bit as much as the people who live in urban Ireland. That is a fact. We saw that on the streets of our capital city and the highways, byways and back roads of our towns and villages in recent weeks, just in case anyone in government was not listening. People were shouting loud enough, I hope, for the Government to hear. In the midst of that crisis, the Government arrived with half-measures for the town, city, townland and village.

When I think about this consultation process and the way in which people have been sidelined and feel they have been ignored, I reflect on the number of reports and strategies that have been done. I put it to the Minister of State that rural Ireland does not lack reports or strategies; it lacks action from a Government that seems to be out of touch and indifferent to the lived reality of ordinary people. If a report, consultation or strategy document could change things, we would not be here. We would not be having this conversation because the change would happen but what will change things is action from the Government.

Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)
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The consultation on the next phase of Our Rural Future is welcome but the real test is whether this becomes another high-level document full of warm aspiration or actually improves quality of life, economic development, town and village regeneration, inclusivity and protection of our natural and built heritage in rural communities. Rural Ireland needs services, infrastructure, housing, transport and the renovation and repurposing of long vacant and derelict buildings - in short, serious investment in the everyday foundations of a decent quality of life. If we want to see our rural communities thrive into the future, we have to move beyond the outdated idea that rural policy is essentially one version of agricultural policy with a few community grants attached.

Farming has been central to rural life for generations. It has sustained families, supported local businesses, creameries, marts, butchers, food processors and small businesses, and given many communities their economic and social backbone. One of the strongest pro-farmer arguments we can make is that rural development must diversify and farming must be supported to diversify. Many farmers are under enormous pressure from volatile markets, rising costs, escalating debt, land pressures, weather instability and environmental obligations. We should not pretend ever-greater intensification of agriculture is a sustainable answer for every family farm or rural community. Farmers who remove hedgerows and native trees wholesale from their land often make these decisions within a policy and market framework that has rewarded intensification and treated nature as a nuisance or obstruction, rather than as part of the rich fabric of rural Ireland. Hedgerows, mature trees and wetlands are vital for biodiversity, flood protection, carbon storage, water quality, landscape character and our natural heritage but we also have to understand their destruction in the context of an agricultural policy many farmers are simply locked into. A serious rural policy must support farmers to make a decent living while protecting those habitats and irreplaceable parts of our natural heritage.

There is a false and divisive narrative in some of our public debate on rural Ireland. Some people, including in this House, seek to appropriate rural Ireland as an identity, restrict who is allowed to belong within that identity and portray anyone who cares about, for instance, climate or nature as somehow hostile to rural life. That is nonsense. Rural Ireland is not a monolith; it is made up of farmers, farm workers, carers, teacher, nurses, small businesses, businessowners, artists, tradespeople, young families, older people, disabled people, Travellers, migrants, Irish speakers, people who go to mass, people who do not, people who play GAA and people who never did.

It includes people whose families have lived in the same parish for generations and people who have made their homes there more recently. No one owns rural Ireland. No one has the right to use it as a cudgel against people who do not fit a narrow version of what rural identity is supposed to look or sound like.

I grew up down a bóithrín between two small villages. I spent a fair part of my summers stacking bales of hay and drawing them in on tractors. I also listened to The Smiths and read Sylvia Plath in my more anguished adolescent moments of alienation. I did not play GAA. I found parts of the culture I grew up in quite stifling and insular. Like many people around me, I had mixed feelings of love and hate, and many shades in between about rural Ireland and those feelings have shifted considerably over time. I am just as much a part of rural Ireland, shaped by it and proud to be part of it, as anyone else in this Chamber who invokes the term as a badge or authenticity or moral superiority. Rural Ireland formed me, just as it formed others here, in its strengths, beauty, constraints, complexities and contradictions and that is the point. Rural Ireland is richer, more diverse and more complex than the caricature often presented in political debate.

Caring about hedgerows, rivers, trees, wildlife and soil is not anti-rural Ireland. Wanting rural communities to be more inclusive is not anti-rural Ireland. Gay, lesbian and trans people, migrants, artists, Travellers, and people who simply do not conform to a narrow template of rural identity should feel at home in their own rural communities. A serious rural policy has to start from that plurality. Rural Ireland cannot be reduced to a slogan, a voting block or a lurch into pre-globalisation, anti-science nostalgia. It is a living, changing, diverse set of communities and policy should be designed for the full breadth of those communities, not just for the loudest or most familiar version of them.

Caring deeply about nature is not anti-rural Ireland; it is the opposite. Rural Ireland cannot be defended by degrading the very landscape that sustains it. Our policy must reflect that diversity. Policy must be also rooted in everyday experience: whether people can get to work, college or hospital; access childcare or a GP; rent or buy a home; get broadband or remain in their community as they age.

Transport is one of the clearest examples. In some parts of the country, Local Link has been transformative. It has given older people more independence. It has helped people without cars get to appointments, shops, college, services and to visit friends and family. It has helped local businesses by making towns and villages easier to reach. This is what public transport should do but in other parts of the country, including for much of east Cork, the service simply does not exist in any meaningful way and this is profoundly unfair. We cannot talk about rural opportunity while accepting a situation where one village has a regular bus service and another has a pale shadow of a service; where one older person can get to town independently and another is effectively housebound; or where one young person can access education or work and another is dependent on lifts. This is not a small inconvenience; it is a major quality of life disadvantage. The absence of public transport affects employment, education, health, social participation, family finances, disability access and climate action. If Our Rural Future is serious, it should set out a pathway to universal baseline rural mobility, with regular, accessible and affordable services connecting villages with towns, towns with rail and rural communities with healthcare, education and employment.

Housing is another central issue. Rural communities cannot thrive if the next generation cannot afford to live in them, if workers cannot move into them, if older people have no suitable options to downsize locally or if families are forced out because there are no affordable homes. At the same time, many rural towns and villages are scarred by vacancy and dereliction, with empty upper floors, former houses allowed to decay, commercial buildings lying idle while local groups have no meeting space, and small businesses cannot find suitable premises. Take Ladysbridge in my constituency, where a school with remarkable potential for community use in an expanding village with very few amenities has been left to rot for decades. Dereliction is not just an aesthetic issue; it is State neglect writ large. It speaks of a lack of interest and a lack of concern. Tackling dereliction should be a key part of Our Rural Future, through stronger local authority resourcing, serious use of compulsory purchase orders where necessary and meaningful support to over- the-shop units back into use.

This is particularly important in Gaeltacht communities. The Irish language cannot be sustained by rhetoric alone. It needs living communities behind it, affordable homes for young families, schools, childcare, transport, healthcare, digital infrastructure, local employment and cultural spaces. We cannot celebrate the Gaeltacht as part of our national identity while allowing housing pressures, lack or services and a lack of opportunities to hollow out the communities that keep the language alive. A social infrastructure strategy to sustain Gaeltacht communities has to be core to a language strategy. Teanga bheo atá i gceist agus ní mhairfidh sí gan phobal beo.

Enterprise policy also needs to fit rural life and enhance it. Rural economies depend not only on export-led companies but on cafés, trades, childcare providers, tourism businesses, small retailers, mechanics, digital workers, food producers, artists, carers and community enterprises. We need to listen to small rural businesses and hear about what is holding them back, such as insurance, energy costs, broadband, housing for staff, transport, water infrastructure, planning delays, access to finance and the decline of footfall in town centres. We need investment in regional employment hubs, technological universities, health and social care, broadband, public transport, water services, childcare, schools and community facilities.

The consultation process for Our Rural Future must be more than a listening exercise. It must lead to a different model of delivery and clear outcomes. It must lead to the decisive improvement in the lies of rural people. Can they get a bus? Can they get a home? Can they access a GP? Can their child get childcare? Can a disabled person live independently in his or her own community? Can a small business survive on the main street? Can young people see a future locally? The next Our Rural Future policy should recognise the diversity of rural Ireland. It should move power and resources closer to communities. It should expand Local Link and other forms of rural transport. It should address vacancy and dereliction in a comprehensive way with leadership from local authorities, not through a patchwork of grants that community groups have to scrap over, over a period of years. It should support farmers by diversifying rural economies. It should invest in public services as the foundation of balanced regional development and protect Gaeltacht areas as living communities, not just symbols of our national heritage.

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome this discussion on the future of rural policy and on Our Rural Future. I welcome the opening and consideration of the consultation for same. It is so important people right across this country, whether they are in an urban or rural area, contribute to what they believe the future of rural Ireland should look like and that we reflect on the first phase of this plan in terms of what went right, what went wrong and how we can do better. In this House, and in many parliaments across the world, the question we always have to ask ourselves is: how can we do better? For rural Ireland there are a few key areas I believe we can really improve things and over the coming years use this policy as the document that guides everything we do to improve rural Ireland.

Particularly for Our Rural Future, I want to talk about rural transport because many people love rural Ireland because they can work, live and contribute there and it is vital they have transport to access labour in our towns, cities and in areas of high industrial activity. The way we will do that and make rural Ireland more connected is through an enhancement of investment in rural links and in the Local Link service. In east Galway, we have seen many Local Link services enhanced over the past few years and they have been an absolute game-changer. However, many areas remain without this service and that leaves people isolated and unconnected. People need to have that opportunity to avail of Local Link transport, not just for the sake of transport but for the sake of connection and community. To get rid of rural isolation, we need to make sure our elderly people can access this service as well.

Another thing that needs to be considered is how we are delivering housing in rural Ireland and where there are blockages. A significant issue I see is that young people are not able to build using shared entrances into national roads. That is a Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, problem and it is a roads problem but it is a priority for Our Rural Future because young people are being encouraged to go 6 km or 7 km down the road and build on a bóithrín, only to drive back and forth multiple times per day to tend to the farm at home. To be honest, that is absolute madness. We need to take a common sense, practical approach to our rural planning that allows people to build close to home and beside their parents so that when care needs arise in a home, the family will be there to care for one another. That is something that is really important in rural Ireland as well.

There are so many villages that are never going to be serviced or see a sewerage network, but they should not be choked because of that. They should not be stifled when it comes to development. People should be allowed to build homes in those villages. I welcome what the Minister, Deputy Browne, is doing with the developer-led wastewater treatment systems for projects of up to 40 units. Policies of that nature will allow these villages to thrive and to grow and will encourage people to live in them, which would mean that there could be more services and greater support right across rural Ireland.

Remote working hubs formed part of the previous Our Rural Future policy. Many of these hubs were established but were never given current funding to ensure that they were maintained or that they could employ managers. Every county should have a remote working hub manager who can manage all of the hubs in their county remotely. Those people could ensure that the hubs are kept going and are financially viable.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Like colleagues, I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate on the consultation process relating to Our Rural Future. While this policy is often spoken about in the context of counties far from Dublin, the truth is that many of the challenges it seeks to address are felt just as strongly in parts of my constituency. Two fifths of Dublin South-West is rural. The constituency stretches out beyond Tallaght towards Brittas and the border with Wicklow on one side and through rural Rathfarnham out the Old Military Road across the Featherbeds, past the Captain Noel Lemass monument and into the county of Wicklow. The foothills of the Dublin Mountains, which I represent, cover Rathfarnham to Tibradden and Killakee and Glenasmole, Crooksling, Brittas and Bohernabreena on the western side of the mountains.

In recent weeks, the national conversation has been dominated by the fuel protests. These have prompted some to speak about a supposed rural-urban divide. What I hear from people who live in my constituency is very different. Dublin South-West residents understand both sides of the debate because we have both rural and urban areas. Many families in rural south Dublin balance the realities of suburban life, with the rural reality of having the mountains on their doorstep. These communities experience the same day-to-day challenges as any rural parish, with long commutes, limited public transport and infrastructure that has not always kept pace with demand. I would say to the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan that far from being a weakness, this blend of rural and urban is one of our great strengths because it gives people in the constituency a unique perspective. They know that rural Ireland is not some distant concept. It begins just a few minutes from the M50. It provides a truly enriching backdrop to suburban life and it is also home to hundreds of families. They know that when we talk about balanced development, fairness and investment, those principles must apply to every community, including those on the edge of our suburbs.

One of the clearest examples in this regard is broadband. Despite being so close to the city, there are still homes on the Bohernabreena side of the mountains that struggle with unreliable or inadequate connectivity and the consequences associated with that. Parents tell me of their children being unable to complete homework as a result of patchy connections. There are workers who are trying vainly to participate in hybrid work but who find themselves constantly at a disadvantage in that regard.

The same is true of road access, particularly in view of recent and ongoing closures. As a result of subsidence across on the Rathfarnham side of the Dublin Mountains, the Cruagh Road was closed causing significant inconvenience to local residents. People travelling to work, school or medical appointments found themselves facing detours. The feeling is that if this had been a suburban road, the problem would have been addressed much more quickly. As this consultation process moves forward, it is essential that the Department actively captures the experience of communities like those in Dublin South-West. The purpose of this consultation is to listen.

With regard to one-off housing - or the lack of it - on the Bohernabreena west side of the mountain and the Rathfarnham east side of the mountain, barely any planning permission for new homes has been granted by South Dublin County Council in the past ten to 15 years. I could probably count on both hands the number of homes in respect of which permission has been granted during my 27 years as a public representative. What this has done is split families and children from their parents. It means that children who grew up in the mountains now live in the suburbs of Old Bawn and Aylesbury while their parents, some of whom are ageing - a point made by the previous speaker - live in the foothills. This puts things like school numbers under pressure. I have seen the success of the Local Link transport in rural towns and villages in Ireland, but there is no Local Link service in the rural foothills of my constituency. Such a service would be of huge assistance to parents with children attending national school.

Digital connectivity and physical connectivity go hand in hand, and a community cannot thrive if either is unreliable. The consultation process must take account of a number of themes. One-off housing and the issues around this, as mentioned by all previous speakers, apply as much in rural south-west Dublin as they do in any other part of rural Ireland. Our Rural Future is an ambitious policy. The people who live in the rural part of my constituency, including sheep farmers and other farmers and horticulturists, are guardians of the part of the countryside that is closest to the city and its suburbs. We need to ensure that this policy delivers and is seen to deliver for those in Dublin South-West and in parts of rural south Dublin who experience both the fantastic opportunities rural life offers them and the challenges of living in rural Ireland close to a city every day.

Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin (Wicklow-Wexford, Sinn Fein)
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Many of our rural villages are being allowed to die on their knees because of Government inaction. They are being strangled due to the obstacles that are put in the way of people who want to develop changes. My journey here today took me through the village of Aughrim, which has not seen any proper development for the past decade and a half. The lack of infrastructure such as wastewater treatment is strangling the development of desperately needed housing in the village, which would keep local people in the local school and living locally instead of exporting them across the world. Lack of State support is one thing, but that to which I refer is particularly infuriating for the entrepreneurial minded people I met today who want to build small clusters of houses in these villages and those who want to develop facilities for tourism or maybe repurpose an old building or a closed down building. They are, however, met with obstacle after obstacle, bureaucracy over regulation and strangulation due to the lack of wastewater treatment capacity. This is preventing people getting planning permission and is replicated in many other villages I represent, including Camolin, Ferns and others.

I also visited the schools in Camolin and Aughrim. The lack of infrastructure is having a really bad impact because young families cannot build houses and settle down in either village. They cannot live in the area so people are getting exported. I met quite a lot of young people from farms who cannot get permission to build. This is like something out of Stalinist eastern Europe as far as I can see. Local post offices are closing as are local Garda stations. People are finding impossible to access GPs. There is a lack of affordable childcare, affordable housing and reliable public transport in these areas of north Wexford and south Wicklow. In many ways from my memories I see that rural Ireland has been abandoned by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. I see similar stories in villages all the way from Ballindaggin up as far as Barndearg, and from Kilmuckridge up as far as Knockananna.

I read through the document. There is plenty in it about remote working and rural development. Last Saturday, I was in the lovely village of Carnew in south-west Wicklow. A playground there is still closed. There is a lovely building in the middle of the main street on a prime site, the old Bank of Ireland branch that closed in 2021. Along with one in Tinahely and another in Rathdrum, it was allowed to close and they are all still locked up despite groups and enterprises badly needing spaces. Why is that the case?

Ballycanew only got high-speed broadband in mid-2024 thanks to a local group, Whizzy Internet, that stepped in and provided a great service. We all rely on the rural road network but despite all of the damage recently Wicklow is still waiting on €15 million in emergency funding and Wexford is waiting on €20 million. There is not a cent yet. It also still needs €194 million to upgrade the road infrastructure.

There are so many areas I could focus on. Glossy documents are pointless without concrete action and timelines. I want to see proper commitment to delivering infrastructure, wastewater treatment and rural housing in north Wexford and south Wicklow. The document means nothing without action and timelines.

Charles Ward (Donegal, 100% Redress Party)
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I welcome that the Minister undertook public consultation to further inform the development of the next rural development policy. It is important to view our rural communities. What matters most for rural communities is that the people in them are considered. I also welcome the fact that the consultation was done online. The latter is very important in order that everybody in the communities can have their say, particularly those with disabilities. It is important that their voices are heard, that the voices of young people are heard and that there is Government collaboration on this. I hope that many more consultations will be done in this way. That is very important because it will provide a great opportunity to inform future decisions relating to rural Ireland.

As someone who lives in rural Ireland, it is evident to me that the Government has fallen significantly short in providing the infrastructure resources and investment needed to support and develop our communities. As a result, those who live in these communities are unfairly left to pay the price for Government neglect. The lack of significant investment is reflected in many aspects of our daily lives, from limited public transport to poor broadband. There are towns in Donegal that only received access to fibre broadband as recently as yesterday. We are informed about this all the time, and we are so far behind everyone else. We are a decade behind Dublin.

As well as inadequate access to healthcare, education and employment opportunities are limited. These structural disadvantages have led to a severe population decline in our rural communities. Stagnation in growth is part of this. We wonder why people in rural communities are forced to take to the streets when there is something like a price hike in fuel. It comes down to the fact that it is their source of heating. If they have to pay double what they had to pay a few months ago, they will protest.

People are forced to travel long distances to access essential such as healthcare, work and school. There are fewer employment opportunities and most of them are lower paid in nature. Rural areas in Donegal have the second lowest disposable income per person in the country, at €24,686. That is 18% lower than the national average.

Our Rural Future seems to do very little to address any of these issues, which are absolutely massive. That there is nothing more in the Government policy document feels like a hollow, empty promise. There needs to be some form of implementation of these policies. I hope that future documents will be more realistic and more reflective of areas such as Donegal. Without meaningful sustainable investment, the gap between rural areas and others will widen. The Government must act and implement fairer policies.

Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)
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The Government has failed rural Ireland. What we have is a lot of talk and not enough delivery. There is a housing crisis, a cost-of-living crisis and a disability crisis in rural Ireland. There are other issues that people in rural Ireland face on a daily basis, such as those relating to a lack of water due to burst water mains, outages, treatment plant malfunctions and boil water notices. Irish Water has contempt for customers. It should never have been established and should be abolished. Tipperary town public water supply has been on a boil water notice since 12 February 2026. The supply serves a town of more than 5,000 people. The only and most recent information on the Irish Water website is dated 12 February 2026. There has been no further information. It is absolutely outrageous. Half of the town of Clonmel was out of water on Friday and Saturday with no notice. There were homes without water and businesses had to close. The town of Fethard was similarly without water at the weekend. The town of Carrick-on-Suir and west Waterford have ongoing outages and boil water notices. That is completely unacceptable.

Vacancy and dereliction in the main streets of our towns are very serious issues. I hope towns will be supported by means of the regeneration programmes for towns with populations under and over 10,000 people. In particular, Clonmel town centre requires consider refurbishment, having been hit by changes in retail trends and a resulting closure of businesses, including long-standing family businesses. Tipperary County Council is submitting a significant town centre upgrading project this week, under the towns and cities regeneration investment fund. Approval of this project is of vital importance for the consolidation and development of the town. It is a shovel-ready project, with Part 8 consultation complete. The town has an excellent record of completing schemes such as this on time and under budget. These include schemes such as Kickham Plaza and the sports hub. Early approval of this project is essential.

Other very serious issues affecting rural Ireland include security and the level of policing. Throughout Tipperary, Garda numbers are completely inadequate. Gardaí on the beat are almost non-existent now. I must say that seeing on RTÉ news recently a successful Garda beat in Dublin city centre was very difficult to take, seeing as we have been looking for this type of operation for quite some time. Transport is another issue.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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I welcome this discussion on rural policy. The biggest issues relate to housing and services in rural areas. Often, people in rural areas do not have anything. Sustainable housing is the key in this regard. For that type of housing, we need infrastructure. Those engaged in agriculture, forestry and other rural employment must continue to be allowed to build one-off houses on family land or in appropriate locations. There also needs to be housing for a whole lot of people and their families who live in rural areas and who are engaged in other activities. We have to come up with a practical solution to this. Given the stricter regulations on one-off housing and environmental concerns, and the fact that not everybody owns land, one part of this has to be serviced sites in villages and on the edge of villages. These should not be half a mile up the road; they should be where they can be serviced. They should be provided by the local council. Laois County Council is already working on a small number of these but I ask that the Government and the Department get behind them. Serviced sites on the edge of villages could be one quarter of an acre where people build their own houses. These would be in walking distance of the local shops, school, church and sports field, with connected water, sewerage, Internet and electricity. There are some good examples of where this is happening. This requires upgrading sewerage treatment plants and water supply networks.

In Laois, villages such as Ballybrittas, Ballyroan, Ballinakill, Ballylinan, Borris-in-Ossory, Ballycolla and Timahoe could all be developed further if water and wastewater infrastructure were upgraded. Ballybrittas, Timahoe and Ballycolla do not even have a sewerage treatment plant but they are ideal locations for serviced sites. Ballybrittas is right beside the N7 motorway and the local railway station in Monasterevin is within a five-minute drive. The pumping station there has sewerage capacity for another 150 homes but Uisce Éireann is refusing to allow this to go ahead. It refuses to connect the existing houses in the village. It is trying to pass it back to the council, saying it is up to the council, but the council cannot do it because it is not its responsibility any longer. It needs a sewerage connection network to the existing houses and to allow for new developments in the village, which is in the commuter belt.

One of the interesting things about Ballybrittas is that it is included in Uisce Éireann's small towns and villages programme. It is in the programme, but it will not do it. The Department needs to push this. It is located beside the N7 and is five minutes from a railway station. The Department needs to be told to get on with this. We need to have these services to provide sustainable rural housing in County Laois.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I will share time with Deputy Brennan. I welcome the debate. It is timely, particularly in light of the outcome of the various protests we have had in recent weeks. I want to put on the record that the people I met on the protests were decent individuals.

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They were farmers, families and children. They gave no problems in relation to the stewarding of the protest itself and they were anxious to make a point. Whatever is being said nationally about those who were on the protest, I think it has angered and insulted the ordinary decent men, women and families who I met. They were out there because of the frustration they were experiencing and because they believed that they were being neglected. They believed that their ambitions were not being fulfilled and that they were not being supported by the Government. The farmers were there complaining about the fuel costs, and rightly so. They are understandably getting their package today. However, we need to deal with other issues we hear about in rural Ireland in relation to the cost of living and the cost of home heating oil. I would hope that the Government will continue to monitor the situation and ensure that those who are marginalised and elderly, in particular, have a package of some sort to take them through to the budget and beyond. We need to focus our policies, actions and budgets on people. It needs to be people centred and we need to support communities and families.

I listened to Deputy Quaide's contribution and I have to say that I cannot disagree with anything he said, or at least most of what he said, in that he highlighted the problems facing businesses in rural Ireland. They are probably the same issues and problems that face small businesses all over the place. I am referring, however, to small family businesses that have been put out of business or are struggling because of insurance costs, the general cost of doing business, and red tape and bureaucracy. I will cite one such family, Paudie and Catherine Neill from Thomastown, who had to close their business. I raised it in the Dáil previously. They are a hard-working family. Now, a big part of that street in Thomastown is vacant and left without a great existence because the mainstay is gone. Direct intervention is required in situations like that.

The over-the-shop funding needs to be looked at in the context of what is happening in rural Ireland and the closures that are affecting the shop downstairs and living accommodation upstairs. People have made their contribution and paid their taxes and now they are suffering because of Government policy or misplaced policy. I would like their voices to be heard. Likewise, Inistioge is a beautiful part of County Kilkenny. People there are being deprived of their development and future because they do not have the infrastructure in terms of water and sewage treatment. They have been up and down on the list. They have been second, third and fourth and no one gives them an explanation. No one engages with them about a plan that will allow development to take place. Due to that, small businesses there, like the local pub and local shop, are under threat. They are reliant on business to come seasonally, but that is often not enough to take them through the harsh reality of business today.

I want to refer to route 4, a service that was withdrawn from rural Ireland that served as a connection to Dublin and Waterford. It was to be finished in May. The misinformation that is out there has not been addressed by the transport authority. Part of that route is being put out for public consultation, but we do not know if the full route is being retained for the people who travel there for hospital appointments, college, school and social occasions. Nobody knows what is happening. I ask the Minister to please ask the authority to issue a comprehensive statement on exactly where we are going with that. Schools in Kilkenny city are often full and as a result of that, people go to Scoil Aireagail and other schools around the county. However, Bus Éireann told them today that there would be no service. That is shocking. There is no service when there is a bus link and other services there. Bus Éireann needs to look at this again. It is not good enough just to raise it here. I hope that a note will be taken on what needs to be done and that we will hear from the Minister.

Tamara Whelan in Windgap attended the School of the Holy Spirit. For her future education through the National Learning Network, she needs a bus connection from Windgap. There is a bus service and transport from Tullaghought and Kilmoganny, but it needs to stop at Windgap. The bureaucracy and red tape attached to making that decision around a seven-minute trip is absolutely horrendous. If we are serious about connecting those who require further education to the centre, then we have to consider that.

Kilkenny corporation and Kilkenny borough council were abolished and taken into Kilkenny County Council. It was the wrong decision, and it is still the wrong decision. If we are talking about developing urban centres and democracy, we need to bring democracy back to those centres like Kilkenny city and ensure that they have their corporation and county council and that people can engage with them at the lowest level in the pecking order, which is at community level and through their local corporation. It has been promised for years that we would review it. There was a Bill before the House today. I hope that the Government will see the error of its ways and provide that structure for democracy and for the people I represent.

Will the Minister please tell the Minister for education to release the schools that deserve to be released into the construction phase?

Brian Brennan (Wicklow-Wexford, Fine Gael)
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I note that, in the programme from 2021 to 2025, there was a clear call to reverse the flow of young people moving to the city. People living and working in their own towns and villages is what we should be working for. I welcome the billions of euro that will probably be spent on our new development plan. I welcome the engagement tonight. When we see young people spending 26 hours per week in a car driving from the south east to Dublin, however, that is frustrating. It is hitting their mental health. There is a cost to it, and it leaves a carbon footprint. I therefore encourage and welcome the proposals going forward.

I ask the Minister to please look at the towns and villages that have not been supported previously. I can give him the example of the town of Arklow. I know that there are five or six towns like Arklow in Ireland - towns and villages that were simply ignored. Arklow was the home of Inland Fisheries Ireland, IFI. It was the home of a great port. It was the home of Arklow Pottery. Then, over 30 years, due to lack of investment, it slowly declined. Now, however, Arklow is on the crest of a wave. There is a €3.6 billion data centre planned. There are approximately 50 offshore windmills planned. Arklow is in line for a greenway, which we discussed in this room before. There is continual investment. We are expecting thousands of houses. What we need to see, however, is investment in the social infrastructure of that town. That town has no theatre. If people want a concert in Arklow tonight, they either go to the hotel, a church or the school. It has no community centre. I have visited tiny villages in counties Wexford and Wicklow and seen fabulous community centres but for whatever reason, a town of 14,500 people still does not have a community centre. There is a building there that is waiting to be taken on. It just needs work and investment. Arklow has no town park. It is the home of Ronnie Delaney, where he was born, Lord have mercy on him, and Mary Hickey, the only woman to run around Ireland. Both were born and reared in Arklow, and it has not got a town park to show for it. I call for the social infrastructure and capital infrastructure, such as bridges and roads, to be matched with this expected boom in the town. It needs the support. As I said, Arklow is not on its own. There are plenty of towns like it out there that have been ignored for decades.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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I am going to focus my comments on the challenge in our coastal communities and, to be quite frank, the neglect of our coastal communities.

Today, in the fisheries committee, we dealt with seaweed harvesting and the applications that are coming in from major corporations. I asked a question of the traditional seaweed harvesters. I asked whether anybody from Government agencies had engaged with them directly to establish and vindicate their rights that have been there for generations and the answer was "No." We had Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, MARA, which deal with the licensing, Bord Iascaigh Mhara and the Department of the marine in and every one of them confirmed that none had proactively engaged, even though the Attorney General ruled on this years ago. It is complete neglect of the potential of that issue.

Ireland, obviously, is an island nation. The Faroe Islands, which has a population not much more than the Inishowen Peninsula where I am from in the north of Donegal, has a bigger aquaculture industry than Ireland. There has been an utter failure to deal with the planning logjams that have bedevilled the potential of the industry. Everybody has a right to object but you have to make decisions in a timely fashion and it has dragged on and on.

Years ago when I engaged with inshore fishermen - I had policy responsibility for this in Sinn Féin - I asked them whether they be interested in a financial support scheme similar to what farmers had and, indeed, what artists rightly have now. Their response instinctively was that they did not, that they wanted to fish and that they did not want hand outs and they did not want financial supports. That was understandable and admirable but now they are making it clear that they need financial supports to stay in their communities. We really need to understand the history of neglect and wilful failure by Departments where there was not a dedicated Minister for the marine for a long time. There is one now. I will acknowledge that he is engaging and he is trying but we need to sort this out.

We are an island nation. I have just given three examples of the potential. I could go on about the Common Fisheries Policy and the fact that we have utterly failed and allowed our industry and production to fall apart. For example, Norway is a country with the same population as the Republic of Ireland and it has a seafood industry multiples the size of ours.

I offer that to the Minister. We have to turn this around. We have to reset the culture of the Department of the marine. We have to have a Minister who drives forward, works with the industry, cuts out the logjams and brings wealth and prosperity to coastal communities.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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I beg the Leas-Cheann Comhairle's indulgence for a few seconds. I offer my sincere sympathy to the family of Councillor Joe Carroll, who died in west Cork, I suppose, suddenly enough. It is a huge blow. It is fitting that we are talking about Our Rural Future because he was a man who fought for the rural people. I was on the council with him for two years. I found him to be a gentleman. We might have fought inside it but we were best friends outside it like everybody else. I extend my sympathies to Sheila, Linda and Kieran and to the Carroll family and to the people of west Cork and to his colleagues who are brokenhearted because he was a joyful character to be with and to work with.

I am a long time fighting for our rural future policy. I have looked at closures and the damage they do to rural communities. If you look at the closure of a post office, you see the damage that does to the whole town. I know it because I live in a community - Goleen - where we have lost our post office. That meant the local butcher shop went. It had a knock-on effect straightaway because everybody moved to the next town to do business. The bank closed in Schull a number of years ago. That led to the loss of a supermarket there within approximately a year. It has a massive knock-on effect.

The supports need to be there. The understanding needs to be there. There are no great supports for the post offices. I was trying to save the Durras post office recently, and I might as well have been talking to the bloody pole because An Post did not care. It did not give a damn. It told me it was doing its best. Then I found out somebody who was trying their best to reopen it was not getting any assistance and was only being bluffed off the same as I was. If there is a real intent on rural-proofing all these sort of things, there is where the Minister needs to start.

We solved the problem with the Garda stations. However, the problem we have with Garda stations now is that they are no longer closing but there is nobody in them. It is a clever backdoor system of closing them. In Drimoleague and in a few in west Cork, there is no garda working in them because no gardaí are appointed. If you do not appoint them, they cannot be in them. That also has a knock-on effect in the local community. The pub and the shops are closed and it drains the life out of them. In my own village, I see people coming back from all over the world trying to spend money and trying to rejuvenate the community. It needs the State to make sure they do not lose the likes of the post offices and banks because if they do, this is where you are going to end up.

If we look at the fuel protest, there is talk about a division between rural and urban. I do not like the talk about it but statements from a former leader, Leo Varadkar, are not helpful at all. They widened the gap there but we should be bridging that gap. The people of rural Ireland take the hit. That is the bottom line here. If the Government increases the carbon tax in the morning, those who will be hit most are the people who have to drive. They have to use that car. With Local Link, a lot of new services were promised to the people of west Cork, around the Grange area and Timoleague. People do not have any transport services in places, such as Kealkill and Corthna. They have no choice but to get into the car to go shopping, to take their children to school and to go to work in the morning, and they are the people who are hit hardest with fuel increases. The Government is quite happy to slap it on. It is being watched closely now but it usually slaps it on very easily, without thinking of the consequences for certain areas. Certainly, rural Ireland gets a terrible beating with any fuel increase because we have to drive. We have to use our vehicles.

There was also a discussion about the wastewater treatment plants. We want towns and villages to grow but the county development plans are a farce. That is what I call them. They are gone. They no longer engage with the people. The councillors no longer have a say as to what goes into a county development plan. It was drifting in in 2014 to 2016, when I was a councillor. Councillors were having to "Yes" to officials and to play along with it. That is where we are today.

We even had village nuclei between 2014 and 2016 in west Cork and they removed them the next year. The village nucleus was where there was a shop, a church, a creamery or a pub. You give a certain amount of area around that for building to give people a chance to come and live in that community and to build up that community. Sadly, the council, the Cork one anyway, as I can only talk about that one, ran a mile from that. It is like as if it is scared. It has every kind of policy to block you from getting planning. All the young people begging for planning are finding it almost impossible to get it. They are spending fortunes when they should not be doing that. They should be encouraged. These are the people who will turn things around and who will keep the local community alive. We need that to be understood but, unfortunately, that is not happening.

We see the confusion now with the short-term lets. Lord God Almighty, it is as simple as one, two, three. On what the short-term lets are doing for rural communities, people will buy a little drink, they will stay overnight, they will drive around and they will buy food. That is what keeps rural communities alive but I cannot get that into the minds of the Government. They feel short-term lets are enemy of the State but they are not. These short-term lets should not be attacked by local government.

We were in the audiovisual room a while ago for a presentation on driving licences and reciprocal licences. People come back from America who had licences in Ireland. They are driving in New York one day but are not allowed to drive in Skibbereen the next day. It is insane. A report has been drafted and put forward and, in fairness, it is a good report. I would appreciate the Government might spend time on that. I could spend a day talking about these issues because they are close to my heart.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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I have major concerns about small family businesses right across Mayo and the west. They are in massive difficulty. During the recent protests, I spoke to a number of people, not from the haulage, construction and farming sectors but from small family-run businesses that were really struggling. They are struggling with the cost of business. They are struggling with rates. They are struggling with insurance and with increases in terms of labour force and auto-enrolment. All of these things are really crippling businesses. If we lose businesses from the centre of a town, it will be extremely difficult to replace them.

When one building becomes vacant and the next one becomes vacant, there is almost a contagion effect. Therefore, I urge the Minister to support small family-run businesses during this difficult time of energy cost increases because, if we do not, we will need more grants down the line for refurbishments of derelict commercial buildings. We need to keep the businesses in operation and protect them. The Minister's remit - rural development - is not exactly enterprise, but it is important that we protect businesses in regional towns.

I attended the fisheries committee discussion of seaweed today and it is clear that any consideration of seaweed applications should be halted because native seaweed harvesters will potentially be trampled on. MARA and the wider State effectively do not know what is happening and do not have certainty about the rights in local areas in Mayo, Galway, Kerry and Donegal. This is a major issue for rural and coastal communities in Mayo. I am therefore asking for the Minister's intervention to make sure, in the midst of this wave of applications from large commercial seaweed harvesters, that we protect the native seaweed harvesters. The changes coming down the line for these harvesters and this industry will suit and favour the big players. From 2028, there will be an obligation on native seaweed harvesters to register and that will come with a fee of €2,000 and a litany of additional reports that will cost significant money.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Thank you, Deputy.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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My fear is that we will push these people off the radar and pave the way for large seaweed harvesters.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Lawless should conclude.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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I ask the Minister to intervene.

Edward Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I will raise a broad range of issues affecting rural Ireland. I will start with one close to my heart, that of rural planning. This is an important component of dealing with the housing challenge. I have worked through four county development plans in Wicklow and made many changes to help with rural planning. There are currently many aspects of it that make it difficult and we must make changes. First, social and economic need must trump views and prospects in planning decisions. Second, we need to allow people to downsize from one rural area to another. This is especially important for elderly people who live in unsuitable accommodation. Third, we need to identify hamlets to allow clustering of houses in rural areas and broaden the qualification for building in hamlets to include nearby villages and towns. Fourth, housing need criteria should not be applied if people own a house in an urban area and want to move back to their rural area. I could make a range of other points, but I do not have time this evening to go through all of them.

On housing in villages, we need investment in villages, including in water and wastewater schemes. This would reduce the pressure on rural planning and help to make villages vibrant. The residential zoned land tax, RZLT, is suitable for cities but is not appropriate in rural Ireland and should be abolished outside the main cities. It mitigates against housing development in rural areas because sometimes it is economically viable, but a lot of the time it is not economically viable to build because build costs often exceed the selling price. Therefore, land should be left zoned until it becomes economically viable rather than be dezoned.

Airbnb is another important issue in rural Ireland. It should be encouraged in rural areas and villages and no development levy should be applied where a unit is being changed to an Airbnb. Current operators should be exempt from planning. They bring tourists to parts of Ireland that would otherwise never have tourists. I live in a small village in west Wicklow where a number of Airbnbs operate. They bring tourists to that village. Otherwise, it would never see tourists. These properties are not a solution to the housing challenge, which will, please God, dissipate in the next few years. We should not sacrifice the wonderful service Airbnb is to tourism and the funding of small operators in rural Ireland on the altar of an over-reaction, thinking it will lead to long-term lets. More than 90% of them, according to various surveys, will not lead to long-term lets, so they are not a significant solution to the housing crisis. They should be left to operate.

The RRDF is a great fund and I have seen it work well, but I have also seen it not work so well. It needs to come with funding for a dedicated person to oversee it in the councils. In my experience, no one in the council takes responsibility and nothing gets done. Money is not being spent and it loses value over years because of inflation. It is incredibly frustrating. I have seen it in a town in west Wicklow where the money was allocated in 2019 and there still is no shovel in the ground. Consultancy fees have been clocked up but nothing has changed.

LEADER funding has helped many rural projects from employment to playgrounds and is a really successful operation.

I will focus on the reliability of public transport. We need more of it, but we first need to get the reliability right. For example, the 132 bus from west Wicklow to Dublin is not reliable. People will not use an unreliable service. There is an extraordinarily poor service on the Wicklow to Rosslare line. There have been no improvements in 40 years in the train down the east coast to Rosslare. This train is the Cinderella of train services in Ireland. Wicklow town and towns further south have all increased hugely in population in that time.

On school transport, some secondary schools' feeder primary schools are a longer distance away from them than other primary schools. This means that when children are in a feeder school that is further away than another school, they are not allowed tickets and have to rely on concessionary tickets. That anomaly needs to be resolved.

Turning to tourism, in February last year, I proposed the development of an American Presidents trail to develop the sites that the ancestors of 23 American Presidents hailed from. I am pleased to say it has been approved by the Cabinet. Such projects increase tourism in many parts of the island and they need to be developed all over rural island, especially using the shared island fund.

With the cost of business in rural areas,-----

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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To conclude, Deputy.

Edward Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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------it is important that non-agricultural contractors are recognised-----

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I call Deputy Roche.

Edward Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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-----in the Government's response to the fuel challenge.

Peter Roche (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the debate we are having today and look forward to two or three years' time when we can say what benefits accrued from it. The real measure will be in the action.

Like previous speakers, before I came into the Chamber, I was listening to a lot of the contributions. They were almost identical right across the line. Rural planning was one area raised, housing was another and funding for councils was also referenced. In my case, in County Galway, underfunding is a critical issue.

I feel blessed in many ways. I come from a small village in east Galway, Abbeyknockmoy, where we have a good, thriving community. That is because we have business people who try hard and work hard. However, like other contributors have said, one of the things those business people are dogged with is the ever-increasing cost of insurance. Rates are a real issue. The My Future Fund was the most recent additional burden and all of those things add pressure to businesses.

I take my hat off to all the volunteers around the country who continue to make applications for funding to the different rural schemes. Often, it is not businesses that do it, but rural volunteers, people who make up the community councils and development companies. They continuously strive to have a better place to live for people locally.

One of the things I am always challenged by is when I hear of young couples who have issues obtaining planning permission from the local authority. In some instances, cop-on is absent. In all of this debate, urban areas need the rural economy to be good, because the rural supports the urban. That is just the way it works. Connectivity is an issue we have all spoken about today. I will speak about it in terms of public transport and access to services like GP and dental care.

There is a whole host of things that really need to be improved. Fundamentally communities need their young people to stay local and to build locally because they need them to support the local football and hurling team. It is about stimulating that growth and that movement within communities. That is fundamentally important to a lot of those people who are really trying hard.

I commend the Minister on the number of times he has appeared before the social protection committee. I can see the passion that he has for promoting and supporting rural communities. Reference was made earlier to the RRDF, CCIF, and sports capital funding and all of the funding that goes across the different streams through which communities can obtain finance to enhance, support and promote services. It is that very stimulation and growth that encourages young people. It means that they like what they see in a village and they decide to build their first home there. Where there are small towns and villages on the periphery, and I am speaking for East Galway in this instance, I wonder and worry about the future for some of those communities in terms of having the numbers of people to be able to make a successful application for any of the funding streams that I just mentioned. We need to be mindful of the towns and villages on the periphery of cities and major towns. We need to help and support them and to be mindful of their needs.

One issue that we need to consider carefully is that of additional burdens on businesses in local villages, including filling stations, take aways, pubs, restaurants and others that are struggling in many regards. Any decision of future governments must ask if it is sustainable and if businesses can afford it and if not, let us not do it.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I have just left the audiovisual room were the Irish-US driver licence campaign gave a presentation. That campaign is led by Mr. Ciarán Staunton and Ms Karen McHugh. They presented a report by Mr. Damian Green and Mr. Laurence Donnelly. There was much conversation in relation to the lack of public transport in an awful lot of rural Ireland and the necessity of the car. They spoke about the huge issue that we have all dealt with as constituency TDs, namely the fact that a lot of the diaspora want to come home to where they are from and a lot of the time, that is rural Ireland but we have not made it easy for them. This State and this Government has not delivered a licence exchange agreement. Even worse, and what was probably more disconcerting for the Government TDs in the room, was the fact that the campaign has requested meetings with the Minister, the RSA and the Taoiseach but have not received a response. That is absolutely necessary. I accept the Government will talk about this policy it is following in relation to an agreement with New York but the campaign refutes the argument that this is the correct way. The Minister should put some pressure on his colleagues, a meeting should happen and we should come up with a policy that actually delivers this.

Recently we had fuel protests involving farm contractors, hauliers, bus and coach operators, farmers as well as fishermen, taxi drivers and many other workers. I never saw so much support for something that was absolutely discommoding. That was based on an acceptance of the cost-of-living and cost-of-fuel disaster we are going through. It goes without saying that many are not happy with what the Government was forced to do through these protests. If we are talking about rural Ireland and farming, this is not the only issue. Farmers are obviously in fear in relation to Mercosur and its provisional application. We do not know what is going to happen as regards the cost and supply of fertiliser or what will happen with the CAP. We keep talking about streamlining the system in relation to how farmers deal with the Department and other agencies but they are not necessarily facilitated. Rural Ireland in particular is suffering from the fact that home heating oil is something that the Government has failed to address. We know the issues in relation to poverty. I would need a lot more time to be able to deal with the wastewater inadequacies, the failure to deliver on housing, particularly in Gaeltacht areas, and the rural planning guidelines. We have been hearing about a report that was checked by the Attorney General. There is talk about hearing about this later in 2026 but we need to see it now. We know the issue for young people, which is that they cannot build houses where they are from and in the Gaeltacht there are particular issues for Irish speakers.

Gillian Toole (Meath East, Independent)
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Meath is a rural county under very strong urban influence to that end and juggling those parameters, I commend the great work of the LEO, Meath Partnership, the council and the community and voluntary groups. We are very grateful for RSS, LEADER and RRDF funding to date and would welcome much more in future, if possible. At this important time of Our Rural Future II policy formation, I note the recent OECD rural policy review of Ireland, particularly pages 16 to 51 containing the analyses and key actions. I hope that a lot of those, along with the extensive public consultation, will be incorporated. One of the key actions relevant to County Meath is enhanced provision of modern, safe and accessible public transport. In particular, I would suggest extending Dublin Bus to zone 1 areas and enabling Bus Éireann and Local Link to expand their services. Access to education is also important, particularly further education. The single phase development of Dunboyne College of Further Education will actually increase inbound commuting. Another key action is the land use review and the RSES, strengthening coordinated housing, employment and infrastructure such as adequate water supplies for Dunshaughlin and Skreen. The revitalisation and regeneration of towns such as Dunshaughlin to better serve the vast rural hinterland of south east Meath is also key. Similar to Austria, France and Japan, pairing workforce and housing support with transport and SME zone planning is important. Expanding the remit of the LEO to include non-exporting enterprises, including care and retail businesses, would be most welcome. Finally, I thank the Minister for his very comprehensive opening statement agus go n'eirí an tádh leis.

Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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This risks being yet another exercise in performative consultation while rural Ireland continues to pay the price for the previous Government's failure to deliver. Launched in March 2021, the last rural development policy was full of grand promises of a thriving countryside, digital connectivity for all, revitalised towns and villages, enhanced public services and active support for a vibrant, sustainable agricultural sector. The policy has, instead, presided over a period of managed decline. High speed broadband remains patchy in far too many rural areas. Housing provision in rural communities has been strangled by planning restrictions. Only last night I attended a cost-of-living meeting in Cloghan which took place after the fuel protests. We heard at that meeting of the case of a couple who had to abandon their hopes and dreams of building a home due to excessive costs. They only got as far as digging out a foundation. That is very wrong. That is failing rural people. We need to see action here.

The comments of the former Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, on rural Ireland were disgraceful. He should really hang his head in shame and so should Fine Gael.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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Like many others, I resent the comments by the former Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, more or less saying that rural Ireland is a burden to the State. That was dreadful. Each and every one of us needs to demonstrate to the people of rural Ireland that we appreciate them here in Dáil Éireann. In Kerry we have a unique situation whereby there are 575 roads on the waiting list for the local improvement scheme, LIS. They are not private roads. They are public roads that were never taken in charge by the county council. There could be ten to 20 houses on each of these roads.

We only got €1.2 million again this year.

I raise the issue of planning in Kerry for people to build a one-off house for themselves. These people want nothing else but planning. They will do the rest of it themselves. They are being denied that day in, day out for year after year. It is very sad. The other thing that is very important in rural Kerry and in our small villages and towns is the LEADER programme. As we approach the new CAP, having already been told that there will be a 28% reduction in the CAP, I worry that LEADER funding will get squeezed, as well as the farmers who are trying to survive.

I know the Minister is attentive, and I appreciate that, but we need to address these urgent issues for the people who are trying to survive. There was one thing in the package that did not include people with diggers, cranes and any kind of machinery involved in construction. They got nothing toward the exorbitant cost of the green diesel.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis na Teachtaí go léir tráthnóna inniu. Cé nach bhfuilimid ar aon intinn ar gach rud, is léir nach bhfuil ach dea-rún ag gach duine anseo i leith thodhchaí níos dóchasaí a chruthú do cheantair agus do mhuintir thuaithe na hÉireann. Is ceart - agus tá sé soiléir - go bhfuil bród ag gach duine as a gceantair thuaithe, as ár n-oidhreacht thuaithe agus go háirithe as ár bpobal tuaithe. Is cuid lárnach iad dár ndúchas mar thír, agus tá ár bhforbairt náisiúnta amuigh anseo fite fuaite lenár bhforbairt thuaithe ansin.

I thank every Deputy. While we may disagree on many of the items, there was passion and pride in the debate today. I join Deputy Michael Collins and Senator Margaret Murphy O'Mahony in paying tribute to the late Councillor Joe Carroll. There have been many tributes to him for his passion. Deputy Collins summed him up wonderfully. He was a joyful character. He brought passion to politics and to people. I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife, Sheila, and his family, on his very untimely passing.

A number of key issues were raised around infrastructure and services. I will touch on some of them. Many people raised post offices. Through Our Rural Future, we have provided the funds to the Department of communications for rural post offices in particular to assist them. It is one of the challenges, as we invest in the national broadband scheme - which is rolling out ahead of schedule - that we are giving people more access to online services. That means we have to ensure that subsidies are available for services such as post offices. Many Deputies spoke about the withdrawal of post offices, Garda stations and banks, for instance. That is something that we need to look at to ensure that there are facilities within rural villages and towns to get that footfall.

There has been a lot of talk about housing, particularly the proposal by Deputies Wall and Timmins around serviced sites in rural areas and rural communities. Deputy Martin Kenny raised a point about DEDs and the population of DEDs. It is something I will reflect on, combined with the proposals in relation to serviced sites in areas. The Minister, Deputy Browne, is committed to rural housing guidelines. Many of the issues that have been discussed across the House are shared in terms of people who need access to rural areas, families who want to return. Deputy Timmins made the comment about families wanting to come back into rural areas and it being held against them that they may have property in urban areas. I am committed to working with the Minister, Deputy Browne, on that.

Deputy McGuinness called for targeted supports for the Gaeltacht and our islands. I have introduced that. I have introduced extra supports in terms of RRDF, town and village renewal and CLÁR, specifically for Gaeltacht areas, but also for islands. We would have been at the Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann AGM last week - it was postponed, unfortunately - to try to address the challenges that we face there. I also want to see skills, particularly on our islands, to ensure that we have the services on the islands. That is why we have worked with technology in relation to healthcare. I commend the work under way in the University of Galway around that space. It is about how we can bring remote healthcare to islands by using technology. There is some very good work there.

Both Deputies McGuinness and Mac Lochlainn have spoken about rural fishing communities. I have asked Deputy Mac Lochlainn to provide me with the information in relation to the Faroe Islands. I certainly want to see how we can do in that. I will come back to the Deputies. A number of Deputies, including Deputy Conway-Walsh, raised seaweed harvesting. It is a traditional industry that we need to respect and regard.

Many Deputies have raised challenges in relation to Rural Link and Local Link. Equally, we have to acknowledge the massive transformation that has been made on Local Link in the last number of years. We have seen that in Mayo, led by Sarah Togher and her fantastic board. There has been a transformation of the service. Yes, we need to continue to investment and a number of areas have been challenged around that.

My colleague, Deputy Ryan O'Meara, raised community cafés and community services. That is something I will seek to support in the new Our Rural Future. The community café model is fantastic and it shows.

Many Deputies have spoken today about volunteers. The point I always make is that parents, young parents in particular, get very busy doing the runs and being in ten places at the one time for the same training, but could you imagine if there were no trainers? Imagine there was no local committee to do the training. Imagine there was nobody to give the drama classes. Life would be a lot more complicated then if people had to entertain the kids themselves. That volunteer spirit is what keeps rural Ireland going. Deputy Roche and a number of other Deputies referred to what we call the bureaucracy burden that we unintentionally place on volunteers. That is something I am committed to addressing. We have made changes to CCIF. LEADER is one of the programmes that comes back a lot as having a major bureaucracy element to it, and it does because it is cofunded. We have to make sure that the form filling and the necessary information is not frightening people off. That is something we are committed to.

A lot of issues were raised regarding businesses in rural areas. We face a major challenge. As we go online and become more online, we have to try to protect businesses and base businesses in rural areas. I am certainly open to ideas and proposals on how we can do that. If we can do that, while there is a generation who may never walk into a shop, we have to give them a reason to use and go to a town and a village, be it for schools, community events, sport or the activities I referred to earlier. That is why we invest in infrastructure. That is why we invest in community infrastructure in order to do that.

I thank all the Deputies for their contributions, including the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. We have taken that on board and we will incorporate it into Our Rural Future. Equally, we all have a job to drive this debate on within our groups and parties, but also to actually deliver changes that support rural communities. That is something that we want to lead on. Many Deputies have referred to this. There is no need to divide our country. At a time of such division internationally, there is no need to divide this country between urban and rural. Urban areas need rural communities and vice versa.

The west coast of Ireland is providing some leading healthcare, pharmaceutical and health technology. It is providing services and treatments around the world from rural brains and a rural sense of enterprise. It is a kind of enterprise or meitheal. I speak of this all over the country. Meitheal must be a Mayo thing. I am struck by the fact that people do not seem to realise the work that volunteers to do in coming together in common purpose is meitheal. It happens everywhere in the country, but that is driven from within rural communities. It is driven from the passion of rural communities - a passion that was in evidence in the Chamber today.

Gabhaim míle buíochas le gach duine as páirt a ghlacadh sa díospóireacht seo inniu. Bhí sé úsáideach. Táimid chun an polasaí nua a fhoilsiú i gceann cúpla seachtain. Táim ag tnúth go mór leis an bpolasaí sin a chur i bhfeidhm. I am looking to the new draft, but, most importantly, the policy will not be the important thing. It is the action plan that will go with it. It will include measurable, ambitious actions that I will have no difficulty, as long as I am Minister in this Department, reporting back on. I will conclude by thanking all of the officials in my Department who work incredibly hard in this space. I especially thank each and every person across rural Ireland who volunteers in any format, in any organisation and in any club to make our rural communities stronger, more vibrant, more welcoming and more active.