Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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257. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development her priorities for rural development in the coming months and years; the extent to which she expects to be in a position to address issues that have arisen; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24564/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My priority for rural Ireland is to develop and publish a new 5-year Policy for Rural Development in the coming months.

The new Policy will reflect a whole-of-Government approach to supporting the economic, social and cultural development of rural Ireland.  It will be forward-looking, ambitious and will seek to highlight and foster the interdependence between urban and rural areas.

The new Policy will address the short-term and longer-term impact of COVID-19 on rural communities and economies.  It will support the Government’s overarching objective of getting people back to work, but it will also consider a wide range of other linked issues such as the roll-out of the National Broadband Plan, optimising the use of digital connectivity, the opportunities presented by climate adaptation, and supporting island and coastal communities.

The development of the policy is at an advanced stage, informed by an extensive consultation process with a wide range of stakeholders.  I hope to publish the policy in the final quarter of this year.

The new policy will be underpinned by my Department’s Rural Development Investment Programme which includes schemes such as the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme, and CLÁR.  

We will continue to build on these, and other investments for rural Ireland, not just within my own Department, but across other Departments also, recognising the importance of rural Ireland to our national development.