Nicole Ryan (Sinn Fein)

I thank the Cathaoirleach. Community is the bedrock of Irish society. It sustains us, strengthens us and gives meaning to our lives. In times of crisis and calm, it is our communities, and the people who hold them together, who provide the care, connection and resilience that this State often fails to deliver. Yet, the very sector that sustains us, the community and voluntary sector, is chronically underfunded, undervalued and underappreciated. This Government is happy to rely on community groups to fill in the gaps left by public services but refuses to resource them adequately.

Investment in community infrastructure, in local halls, youth centres, family resource centres, men’s sheds and women’s groups, has simply not kept pace with demand. In fact, there are large towns in this country with no dedicated community or family resource centres at all. This is not a policy oversight; it is an indictment of Government inaction and indifference stretching back decades. It is not just the voluntary sector that is feeling the strain. Rural Ireland is being managed into decline, piece by piece, decision by decision, through deliberate neglect, urban-centric policies and a failure to tackle the issues that matter most.

Rural communities have been in decline for decades, and this decline is not an accident. It is the result of choices made in this Chamber and in Government Buildings. They are choices to underfund infrastructure, to let local transport routes wither, to allow GPs to vanish without replacement, to close over 160 post offices and to enforce planning restrictions that make it nearly impossible for young people to build homes in their own towns and villages.

What we are watching is the slow erosion of rural Ireland, and the Government is watching it happen. What we need is affordable homes in rural towns and villages; serviced sites for self-builds, so that people can build homes in the areas they grew up in; a planning system that actually reflects the needs of rural families, not one-size-fits-all bureaucracy designed around urban priorities; and investment in GP services, local transport, childcare and broadband. All those aspects that have been mentioned here today are the essential infrastructure for modern life in rural Ireland.

The decline in the Gaeltacht is very alarming. We keep saying we are investing so much in the Gaeltacht and that all this is happening but the reality for people living in the Gaeltacht is very different from what we are hearing on TV and reading in the papers. These communities not only face the same lack of services and housing as elsewhere in rural Ireland but also carry the responsibility of preserving our native language and culture. Instead of protecting and nurturing them, the Government is letting them slip away. The failure to support Gaeltacht housing, education through Irish and community-led cultural initiatives is not just policy failure. It is a betrayal of our identity. We need targeted investment in Gaeltacht housing, incentives for young families to remain or return, and planning reforms that empower communities to grow sustainably while preserving the Irish language. The Gaeltacht is not a museum. It is a living, breathing part of who we are and it deserves a whole lot more than tokenism.

While many housing decisions rest with another Department, the Minister has a central role to play in shaping the planning framework, delivering serviced land, supporting community infrastructure and bringing real ambition to the next rural strategy. Rural Ireland is crying out for action, not another glossy document filled with photo ops and vague aspirations. Without urgent intervention, the managed decline of rural Ireland will not just continue but will become official Government policy.

Críochnóidh mé leis seo a rá; ní gá dúinn an roth a chumadh arís. Tá a fhios ag pobail cad a oibríonn cheana féin. Tá siad ag coinneáil rudaí le chéile in ainneoin an Stáit, ní mar gheall air. Níl siad ag iarraidh ach tacaíocht, meas agus deis chothrom le todhchaí a thógáil. An bhfuil an méid sin á lorg acu i ndáiríre?