Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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37. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her proposed and current plans to resolve the regional, economic and demographic imbalance in the State. [19859/16]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As announced by An Taoiseach at the launch of theProgramme for a Partnership Governmentin April 2016, I have been charged with the development of an Action Plan for Rural Ireland, which will utilise a similar framework to the very successful Action Plan for Jobs.

It is intended that the Action Plan will draw on the commitments in theProgramme for a Partnership Government, the recommendations in the report of the Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas (CEDRA) and the Charter for Rural Ireland, as well as other Government programmes and policies that have influence on the sustainable development of rural areas. The aim of the Action Plan will be to identify a series of time-bound actions with specific and measureable outputs and coordinate the implementation of those actions with a view to ensuring that all areas of Ireland are supported equally and facilitated in their development into the future.

Work has already begun on formulating the Action Plan and it is intended that it will be published in a format similar to the Action Plan for Jobs. A regular and structured reporting mechanism will be put in place and progress reports will be delivered to the Cabinet Committee on Regional and Rural Affairs, chaired by An Taoiseach.

I hope to be in a position to launch the Action Plan before the end of 2016.