Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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1178. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the legislation required to underpin the recently published policy on rural development Our Rural Future; the timetable for the introduction of such legislation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21782/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Our Rural Future, Ireland's new Rural Development Policy, is an ambitious framework for the sustainable development of rural Ireland for the next five years. The vision of the policy is for a thriving rural Ireland which is integral to our national economic, social, cultural and environmental wellbeing and development. 

Our Rural Future contains over 150 commitments to be delivered right across Government, for both the short-term recovery and longer-term, sustainable development of rural areas.

Amongst these commitments is the introduction of legislation to provide employees with the right to request to work remotely and that will be brought before the Oireachtas by my colleague, the Tánaiste, in due course.

In line with the Programme for Government, there will also be legislation enacted implementing revised Nursing Home Support Scheme (Fair Deal Scheme) provisions in respect of family-owned and operated farms and businesses.

There is also a commitment to examine the feasibility of introducing 'meanwhile use' legislation to allow short-term use of empty buildings and shopfronts in towns, as pop-up shops or exhibition spaces, for example.

In each of these cases, and where other legislation may be required in order to fulfil commitments in the policy, it will be a matter for the relevant Department assigned lead responsibility for those specific measures to progress.

Finally, in order to ensure that current and emerging priorities under Our Rural Future are fully addressed, consideration will need to be given to the future resourcing needs as part of discussions in the preparation of Budget 2022 and those decisions will of course need to be duly reflected in the relevant accompanying legislation.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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1179. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the budget required for each year of the programme to underpin the recently published policy on rural development Our Rural Future; the sources of the budget; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21783/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Our Rural Future, Ireland's new Rural Development Policy, is an ambitious framework for the sustainable development of rural Ireland for the next five years. The vision of the policy is for a thriving rural Ireland which is integral to our national economic, social, cultural and environmental wellbeing and development. 

Our Rural Future demonstrates the Government's commitment to ensuring the short-term recovery and long-term sustainable development of rural areas. It contains over 150 measures, covering the full spectrum of public policy activity, and delivery of these will see an unprecedented level of investment in rural Ireland, building on the excellent progress currently being made.

Some examples of ongoing investment include my recent announcement of €75 million in funding for projects under the €1 billion Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, the largest tranche of funding approved under the Fund to date, and the launch of the €70 million Transitional LEADER Programme. Last week I also launched a call for €14 million in funding for outdoor recreation projects under the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme.

Other Government investments in rural Ireland include the €2.7 billion National Broadband Plan, €108 million for the Bord na Mona Peat Restoration Project and other huge commitments towards transport infrastructure such as roads, rail, and walking and cycling amenities.

The breadth of public policy measures included in Our Rural Future means that investment will be provided by programmes delivered by colleagues across the full spectrum of Governmental responsibility including in areas such as communications, transport, enterprise support, healthcare and education.

Strong levels of existing funding will be supplemented by support for new and emerging priorities, which will be considered both in the review of the National Development Plan and discussions in the preparation of Budget 2022.