Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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1585. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the position of a new national rural development plan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33015/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department is currently finalising a new rural development policy for the next five years. The new policy will be forward-looking, ambitious, and will build on the progress achieved through the Action Plan for Rural Development, which concluded in 2019. It will seek to strengthen and build resilience in our rural economies and communities and will identify policy measures for delivery in order to achieve these objectives. As was the case with the Action Plan, the new policy will reflect a whole-of-Government commitment to rural Ireland.

The new policy will recognise that strong rural economies and communities are vital in supporting our national recovery and enhancing our nationwide wellbeing. It will also emphasise the interdependence between urban and rural areas in this regard.

The process of developing the policy has included a wide range of consultation events with key stakeholders, including Government Departments, State agencies, rural stakeholder groups, young people, and the wider public. The insights and views captured through this extensive consultation process have helped to identify the issues that matter to people living and working in rural Ireland.

Over the past months, my Department has held a series of further discussions with key stakeholders to explore the short and longer-term impacts of COVID-19 on rural communities and economies and identify actions required to assist rural areas to recover from the impact of COVID-19. I hosted a public webinar on the topic on 24th September.

The inputs from these consultations are being factored in to the drafting of the policy and I anticipate that the final policy will be submitted to Government for approval in the near future, prior to its publication.