Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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686. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the meetings her Department has had on the CEDRA report both internally and externally in tabular form. [19632/17]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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702. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the status of the CEDRA report; and the status report of each individual recommendation from the report in tabular form. [19630/17]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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703. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number of persons in her Department working on implementing the CEDRA report; and the number of meetings both internally and externally that have taken place on this since 6 May 2016. [19631/17]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 686, 702 and 703 together.

The Report of the Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas (CEDRA) was published in April 2014 and contained a series of recommendations to Government in relation to rural development, many of which have already been implemented.

The priority recommendation made by CEDRA was the need for a co-ordinated approach to rural development across Government led by a Cabinet Minister. The assignment of responsibility to my Department for regional and rural development, and the creation of a new Regional and Rural Affairs Division in my Department, addresses this key recommendation.

The Government's Action Plan for Rural Development, which I launched in January of this year, builds on, and goes further than, the CEDRA report by focusing on both the economic and social development of rural areas. Itwill act as an overarching structure for a range of Government initiatives which have the potential to benefit rural Ireland.

The Plan contains over 270 specific commitments to be delivered by a range of Government Departments, State agencies and other bodies.It is being overseen by a Monitoring Committee, which I chair, and Progress Reports on the implementation of the actions in the Plan will be published every six months.

Within my own Department, actions will be delivered across all Divisions and by a number of agencies to support rural Ireland in areas such as built and natural heritage, arts and culture, recreational tourism, the Irish language, town and village renewal, and supporting sustainable communities.