Written answers

Tuesday, 17 February 2015

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Rural Development Policy

Photo of John McGuinnessJohn McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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282. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if an interdepartmental group has been established by him to bring forward proposals to support economic development in rural Ireland; the date the group was established; the membership of the group and the way each member was selected; the number of meetings held to date; the progress being made; if the threatened closure of bus route 7 by Bus Éireann in County Kilkenny and other counties has been assessed by the group in the context of the likely damage to the local economies, jobs, health care appointments, access to education and social mobility; if he will impress on Bus Éireann the absolute need to continue the service; if the Government will fund a service should the operator pull out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7076/15]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Last July the Government appointed Ann Phelan, T.D. as Minister of State with specific responsibility for implementation of the CEDRA report. Minister Phelan established the CEDRA Interdepartmental Group in August involving all the main departmental actors dealing with the 34 CEDRA recommendations. The selection was made on the basis of departmental expertise and three meetings were held in 2014 under the aegis of this Department. An initial evaluation and assignment of each recommendation has been made in line with statutory responsibility and a multi-sectoral CEDRA work programme with specific actions is being finalised.

Last December, the Government assigned primary responsibility for implementing the CEDRA report to the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government and issues relating to its implementation are now appropriate to that Department and not the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

The question of threatened closure of Bus Route 7 is appropriate to the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and I understand that it was raised with that Minister in a Topical Issue on 12 February last.

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