Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Ring. I especially wish to acknowledge that the Minister is responsible for CLÁR and that it was he who reopened the programme in 2016. While the Minister might be based in Dublin 4, he is certainly working hard for rural communities. It is interesting to note that the CLÁR covers a programme relating to various counties or parts of counties: Cavan, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Kilkenny, Laois, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath, Wicklow and all of County Leitrim, which is the only entire country within CLÁR. It is an important measure. It ties in with the Government's commitment to the Action Plan for Rural Development. I am very aware of all the objectives of that. It is important that we hear how the 2017 programme went, what are the Minister's intentions for funding the CLÁR programme and any plans for bringing it forward into 2018. It is an important programme in the context of rural development and it acknowledges that there is a need for investment in rural communities. I thank the Minister.