Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

I welcome the Minister to the House and congratulate him on his re-appointment. I noted Senator Ó Murchú called for his canonisation. I assure the Minister that nothing I say or do today will put him in mortal danger. He will be absolutely fine in the wake of contributions from this side of the House.

The sustainable development of rural Ireland is an integral part of the sustainable development of Ireland as a whole. Rural development has two key aims, namely, to enhance the lives of those living in rural communities and to maximise the use of the countryside for the benefit of the nation as a whole. To achieve these aims, we need to concentrate on three key areas. We need to consider our range of agricultural products, including the types of food produced and crops grown; we must protect and promote local heritage and renew villages and towns to encourage rural tourism; and we must help rural communities by assisting local facilities such as shops and post offices.

Organic farming is a fast-growing industry and is set to be worth approximately €16 million per year. This has led to an expansion of high-quality artisan food production. Such food production has become very popular since the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy. Many farms are beginning to diversify into this area in addition to rearing herds and producing crops. Such innovation by farmers deserves a kind of brand, like the Kerrygold brand, to help them promote their products.

The agriculture sector can diversify from food production to include land conservation and land utilisation for alternative purposes. Forestry, for instance, can play a central role in sustainable rural development. The benefits of reforestation are immense. In these days of rapid climate change, we need to encourage the growth and maintenance of forests with a varied selection of trees and plants. The growth and maintenance of forests can also encourage a wide range of local tourism initiatives.

We should encourage the development and use of old farmhouses and other disused facilities for agritourism purposes. I used to be a director of Meath Leader, now known as Meath Partnership, and during my term in office several grants were given to individuals who wanted to refurbish old farm buildings for tourist accommodation. This was successful and helped to promote local economic growth.

Countryside breaks, walking, cycling and pony trekking should be encouraged to enhance the experience of visitors. We need to encourage small towns and communities to seek help to develop local heritage attractions to better emphasise the uniqueness of every town, village and community. In north-west County Meath, for instance, there is a steam threshing festival in Moynalty. It has become a fast-growing attraction for farmers and tourists alike. Last year 20,000 visitors came to the area. Over the years, the organisers of the festival have established a small museum dedicated to the tradition of threshing. Down the road from Moynalty, the annual Jim Connell festival is hosted by the locals. Hundreds of visitors gather to commemorate the life of the Meath man who wrote the song "The Red Flag", which many Members will know very well.

Celebrating this kind of local heritage is precisely what rural development should mean. Other opportunities can be found in encouraging and supporting schools and local communities to restore local amenities and areas of historic value, such as graveyards. The Minister may be aware of some of the good work done by Meath Partnership in places such as Athboy where a park was renovated. In Kilskyre, in Deputy Johnny Brady's area, a new walkway was created with the assistance of Meath Partnership.

In Bellewstown, assistance to local artists to provide accommodation and to provide workshops also has come about because of the Meath Partnership programme. Such initiatives can be developed in the countryside to encourage people to visit and to sustain local communities. People who come there then can be guaranteed a successful visit and in the process can contribute to the local economy.

The Government, by providing grants to organisations such as Fáilte Ireland and local authorities, can help to encourage the upgrading of local amenities, such as parks and riverside walks, in order that they can be used to the maximum potential. I will cite the example of the Boyne Canal to the Minister. It is an excellent but seriously under-used waterway that could be used by tourists to travel by boat from the historic town of Drogheda all the way up the Boyne to the new Battle of the Boyne site at Oldbridge and then on to Newgrange and up to Slane and Navan. They could stop off along the way at rural communities, thereby helping to sustain and support them.

I believe that investment in such initiatives will help to play a central role to develop rural areas. However, assistance also must be provided in other ways to local communities to strengthen them and help them grow. The Government must consider expanding the support for flexi-bus services to enable people to move around their communities more easily to gain access to necessary amenities and facilities. Moreover, the policy on post offices should be revisited as rural communities will not thrive in the face of constant closures of small post offices and other essential facilities nationwide.

As other speakers have noted, it also may be time to revisit national planning policies in areas that suffer from rural depopulation. In some parts of the country, including parts of County Meath, different areas are under different stresses in respect of one-off housing. It is extremely difficult to get planning permission in some parts of County Meath, which means that young families cannot enter an area. Consequently, fewer children attend local schools and problems then arise suddenly with regard to both sanctioning additional teachers and the existing complement of teachers. A crazy position has arisen whereby some schools in rural areas cannot find enough pupils although school classrooms are overcrowded eight miles away. I know of one family that moved to a rural area. When they told the local school principal the family had three children under the age of four, the principal nearly bit their hands off because suddenly it meant she could continue with her existing complement of teachers. The issue of rural depopulation should be reconsidered in an attempt to work out how schools can be supported. Schools are at the heart of a rural community, as are post offices. This point must be understood and must be supported by reflecting it in national policy.

A combination of factors, including investment in tourism, expansion of agricultural industry and assistance to local community services, can help to ensure both the survival and the success of rural Ireland.