Séamus Kirk (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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518. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government to set out the current status of the Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas report; the amount of funding that will be put aside for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17208/15]

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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The Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas (or CEDRA) published its report in 2014. The Report contained 34 recommendations focussed on supporting the medium term economic development of rural areas in the period to 2025. I was appointed Minister for Rural Affairs in July 2014, and in line with the recommendations in the CEDRA Report, I immediately established the CEDRA Interdepartmental Group (IDG).

The IDG, which is made up of representatives from all relevant Government Departments, is currently working in a coordinated way to ensure that each Department’s policy development and implementation fully considers the needs of rural communities. In this context, it is about maximising the financial resources already available for rural development and ensuring that these resources are directed in a way that best supports the sustainable economic development of rural areas.

In order to maintain strong links with people in rural Ireland who are involved in or have a strong interest in the economic development of rural areas and communities, both Minister Kelly and I have recently established an Expert Advisory Group to monitor progress and provide advice in respect of the implementation of the recommendations in the CEDRA report. This group, which is chaired by Mr. Pat Spillane and met for the first time recently, is looking at the CEDRA recommendations with a view to offering advice regarding priority actions to support the implementation process.

Regarding the funds available to implement this report in 2015, the intention was not to allocate a specific budget for the purposes of implementing the recommendations of the CEDRA report but rather to ensure that all relevant stakeholders maximise the potential of existing funding streams to support the economic development of rural areas specifically. However, €1 million was allocated in the budget for 2015 to establish a Rural Innovation and Development fund in line with CEDRA recommendations to support innovative, small scale pilot initiatives. Agreement has been reached on the types of projects to be supported under this scheme and a call for proposals for some elements will issue shortly.

Work is also advancing on the establishment of a Rural Economic Development Zone (REDZ)pilot scheme and an amount of €2million is being made available to support the implementation of this pilot. I expect to announce the details of this pilot shortly. A further €5million has also been provided for an expanded REDZ scheme under the LEADER elements of the Rural Development Programme and I am confident that the learning from the pilot will allow us to progress that in early 2016.

It should be noted that significant progress has already been made in terms of implementing the recommendations of the CEDRA Report and this will continue through the work of the IDG over the coming period.