Written answers

Tuesday, 7 March 2017

Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

Rural Development Plan

Photo of Ciarán CannonCiarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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47. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the way the Action Plan for Rural Development can act as a catalyst for renewing rural areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11364/17]

Photo of Heather HumphreysHeather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Realising our Rural Potential,the Government's Action Plan for Rural Development, was launched in Ballymahon, Co. Longford on the 23rdJanuary last. The aim of the Action Plan is to progress the economic and social development of rural Ireland through a framework of supports at national and local level. The Plan will act as an overarching structure for the co-ordination and implementation of initiatives right across Government which will benefit rural Ireland. The Plan contains over 270 actions to be delivered by a range of Government Departments, State agencies and other bodies across five thematic Pillars, as follows:

- Supporting Sustainable Communities,

- Supporting Enterprise and Employment,

- Maximising our Rural Tourism and Recreation Potential,

- Fostering Culture and Creativity, and

- Improving Rural Infrastructure and Connectivity.

Each of the Pillars contains a series of high-level priorities or objectives which will help to rejuvenate rural areas.

The actions in this Plan are only the start of an on-going process which will be built on continuously to unlock the potential of rural Ireland and improve the lives of people who live and work in rural communities. I intend to work closely with all my colleagues in Government in a co-ordinated way to effectively and efficiently deliver on the actions in this Plan.

Photo of Catherine ConnollyCatherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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48. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the status of the clearing house forum to investigate the best ideas to advance economic and social progress in rural Ireland, as provided for under the programme for Government; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11766/17]

Photo of Heather HumphreysHeather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The economic and social development of rural Ireland is a key priority in the Programme for a Partnership Government.In order to progress this priority, I was assigned responsibility for coordinating and prioritising the work across Government Departments which impacts on rural Ireland. The Programme for Government also committed to establishing a clearing house forum to investigate the best ideas to advance economic and social progress in rural Ireland.

In this context, I recently published the Government's Action Plan for Rural Development which acts as an overarching structure for the co-ordination and implementation of initiatives right across Government which will benefit rural Ireland. In preparing the Action Plan, my Department conducted a series of consultations with stakeholders around the country to seek ideas from people in rural Ireland on how to tackle the issues of concern to them.

The Action Plan contains over 270 actions to be implemented by a range of Government Departments, agencies and other bodies to progress the economic and social development of rural Ireland. Implementation of the Action Plan will be overseen by a Monitoring Committee which I will be establishing shortly. The Monitoring Committee will include key stakeholders, Government Departments and experts in rural development. One of the tasks for this Committee will be to ensure that the Action Plan for Rural Development stays relevant and is informed by best practice nationally and internationally. The Committee will also help to identify new actions which can be added to the Plan over its three-year lifecycle.

The Government has established a Cabinet Committee on Regional and Rural Affairs which also acts as a forum to consider ideas to support economic and social progress in rural Ireland. The Cabinet Committee meets on a regular basis and is supported by a group of senior officials from relevant Government Departments.

Photo of Mick WallaceMick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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49. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her views on the lack of a shortlist of priorities, as highlighted by a person (details supplied), with regard to the recently launched Action Plan for Rural Development; the details of any progress regarding the establishment of targets and performance metrics for the actions included in the plan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11741/17]

Photo of Heather HumphreysHeather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Realising our Rural Potential,the Government's Action Plan for Rural Development, was launched on the 23rdJanuary. The Action Plan contains more than 270 actions for the delivery across Government, State agencies and other bodies to support the economic and social progress of rural Ireland. Each action has been assigned to a lead body which will be responsible for implementation of the action within a definite timescale.

The Action Plan is built around five thematic Pillars, each of which contains a series of high-level priorities or objectives. The Plan also contains a number of high-level targets, such as supporting the creation of 135,000 jobs outside of Dublin by 2020, increasing overseas tourists to rural areas by 12%, supporting the rejuvenation of over 600 towns and villages across the country, and protecting vital local services.

Because the Plan will be delivered across a range of Government Departments and agencies, it is possible to deliver on the key priorities simultaneously. Delivery of the Plan will be overseen by a Monitoring Committee, which I will chair, and it will meet on a regular basis to identify progress and address any potential delays in the delivery of individual actions. The inaugural meeting of the Monitoring Committee will take place in the coming weeks.

To add further value to the targets and output indicators already set out in the Plan, the Monitoring Committee will also assist with the development of appropriate impact indicators to measure the social and economic impact of the Action Plan on rural communities. My Department has already conducted some initial work in this regard.

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