Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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46. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the status of the progress made in the 2021 Work Programme for Our Rural Future; the number of measures which have been completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49836/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Government’s national rural development policy, Our Rural Future 2021-2025, was published in March 2021 and is the most ambitious and transformational policy for rural development in Ireland for decades.

The policy focuses on long-term sustainability and optimising services and opportunities for individuals, communities and businesses in rural areas over a five-year period.

It commits to the development of annual work programmes, outlining the actions being undertaken across Government each year towards the implementation of the more than 150 policy measures contained in Our Rural Future.

The 2021 Work Programme, published earlier this year, includes actions advancing the delivery of more than 80 per cent of these policy measures.

My Department will be publishing the first Our Rural Future Progress Report at the end of this year which will detail the work done by Government to fulfil the actions in the 2021 Work Programme. Further Progress Reports will follow every six months for the duration of the Policy.

While work on compiling the first Progress Report is ongoing, I am delighted with the level of activity across Departments in recent months to deliver on the Policy’s ambition. This has seen investment provided for rural communities in local transport and active travel, remote working facilities and digital connectivity, and huge levels of support for important projects under the my Department’s Rural Development Investment Programme.

We have also seen, for example, the launch of the agri-food strategy Food Vision 2030 and the Pathways to Work 2021-2025 Strategy, the publication of the Maritime Area Planning Bill and launch of the National Marine Planning Framework, and the formal establishment of Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest at the start of this month. The revised National Development Plan, published last week, also significantly reinforces the objectives of Our Rural Future.

I look forward to providing full detail on progress in relation to the 2021 Work Programme when the first Our Rural Future Progress Report is published later this year.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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47. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she plans to increase funding for local improvement schemes in 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49402/21]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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48. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the dates on which LIS funding for 2021 was allocated to local authorities in 2021; the amounts allocated; the amount of expenditure to date by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49843/21]

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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78. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the engagement she has had with the Department of Transport in relation to the funding of the local improvement scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49835/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 47, 48 and 78 together.

As part of 'Our Rural Future',the Government is committed to ensuring that the Local Improvement Scheme is funded into the future. This reflects the important contribution which the scheme makes to connectivity in rural Ireland. The Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) supports the improvement of rural roads and laneways that are not normally maintained by local authorities and represents a vital piece of infrastructure for rural communities.

The scheme has been funded by my Department since 2017 and is administered by Local Authorities. Prior to 2017, the scheme was not funded for a number of years.

I launched the 2021 Scheme on 14th May with a budget of €10.5 million. I was very pleased to source additional funding for the Scheme during the year and to allocate a further round of funding on 29th July to bring the total level of funding to €21 million this year.

I was pleased to be in a position to again announce an increase in the funding for LIS from €10.5 million to €11 million as part of Budget 2022. In addition, I have continued to actively engage with my colleague, Minister Ryan, to explore the potential for further financial support for LIS from his Department, While I accept that his Department's priority at the moment remains the upkeep and maintenance of national and local public roads, I believe a cross- Government approach might reap dividends in tackling the backlog of applications on hand in local authorities.

I have set out in the table below the allocations to individual authorities under the 2021 Scheme. Payment by my Department under the Scheme normally occurs in Quarter 4 of each year when the works are fully completed by the Local Authorities, and I would expect the 2021 payments by my Department to the Local Authorities to commence in the coming weeks.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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50. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development when the next round of town and village funding will issue; if she will provide details of all County Kerry applications in the current round; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50132/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Town and Village Renewal Scheme provides funding to support the revitalisation of our rural towns and villages. This year's Town and Village Renewal Scheme places particular emphasis on addressing vacancy and dereliction, supporting remote working, and enhancing town centre living in line with the objectives of “Our Rural Future –Ireland’s Rural Development Policy 2021-2025".

I can confirm that Kerry County Council has submitted eight applications to my Department under the 2021 Town and Village Renewal Scheme seeking funding of approximately €1.3 million in total.

Applications from all counties, including County Kerry, are currently undergoing a formal assessment process. That assessment process is nearing conclusion and I expect to announce the successful applications before the end of the year.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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51. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development when additional funding under the transitional programme for the Leader programme will be allocated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50083/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The LEADER programme is co-financed by the European Commission under Pillar 2 of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), through the European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).

In line with the the Government’s Rural Development Policy for 2021-2025,'Our Rural Future’, I announced details of a €70 million Transitional LEADER Programme which came into effect last April and will cover the period 2021-2022. €65 million of this budget has been allocated to the LEADER Local Action Groups (LAGs) who deliver the programme and approve projects at local level. This allocation covers both core project expenditure and the administration and animation costs of the LAGs. In addition, in the event that a LAG fully utilises their allocation of administration funding, they can avail of a maximum monthly contribution that will be Exchequer funded and will be available to them to the end of 2022.

A further €3 million of the funding has been allocated to support co-operation projects and innovation between LAGs, while the remaining €2 million has been allocated to provide preparatory support for the next LEADER programme. Further funding opportunities under the LEADER Food Initiative remain in place until the entirety of funds are exhausted.

€20 million of this transitional LEADER Programme is funded by the European Union Recovery Instrument, which will enable local communities and enterprises an opportunity to respond in a community-led local development manner to COVID-19.

I am confident that this level of funding will be sufficient to continue operation of the LEADER Programme through the end of 2022.

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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52. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if the next round of CLÁR funding will allow primary schools to apply for funding to develop playgrounds on their school grounds that can also be used by the wider public; the reason such developments have been excluded from the past two rounds of the programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49904/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The CLÁR Programme provides funding under a number of different Measures for small-scale infrastructural projects in designated rural areas that have experienced significant levels of de-population over a defined period. The Measures to be included in the CLÁR programme are reviewed and revised, as appropriate, each year.

The 2020 CLÁR programme was adapted to help rural communities respond to COVID-19 and did not included specific support for playgrounds.

The programme measures were reviewed in 2021 and included support for Outdoor Community Recreation Facilities, including playgrounds. A number of playgrounds located on primary school grounds were successful in being approved for funding under the programme this year. They were approved on the condition that they must be made available for wider community use outside of school hours.

I will review the Measures to be supported under the 2022 CLÁR programme in advance of the launch of the programme next year.