Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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66. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the status of the implementation of the action plan for rural development; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27547/17]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Government's Action Plan for Rural Development was launched in January of this year. The Plan contains 276 actions for delivery across a range of Government Departments, State agencies and other organisations to support the economic and social progress of rural Ireland. Every action has a defined timeline for completion and the organisations responsible for implementing each action are clearly identified.

The Government has committed to publishing progress reports on the implementation of the Action Plan every 6 months, with the first report due to be published in July. However, significant progress has already been made in implementing the Plan and for this reason, I decided last month to publish an interim Progress Report setting out the headline achievements made to date across Government under the Plan. Some examples of initiatives under my own Department’s remit include:

- the launch of the 2017 Town and Village Renewal Scheme with funding of €20 million over 12-15 months to support the economic development of up to 300 towns and villages;

- the launch of 2017 CLÁR and Rural Recreation Infrastructure programmes, with combined funding of €16 million; and

- the investment of €9 million in 62 arts and culture centres across the country, with over 80% of this investment in rural areas.

Details of these and other actions across Government are available in the interim Progress Report on the Action Plan for Rural Development which is available on a dedicated website, www.ruralireland.ie, which is administered by my Department.

I am determined that the Action Plan for Rural Development will be implemented in full over its three-year lifespan and that it will make a real difference to the people who live and work in rural Ireland. I have put in place a comprehensive structure to ensure that all of the actions are robustly monitored, and a high level Monitoring Committee, which I chair, has been established to oversee the process.