Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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40. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will provide an overview of her Department’s strategy to reverse population decline in rural areas. [62332/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Our Rural Future was published in March 2021 and is the most ambitious rural development policy for Ireland in decades. It contains more than 150 measures for delivery, for both short-term recovery and longer-term sustainable economic and social development, and environmental and cultural well-being.

The vision of Our Rural Future is of a thriving and vibrant rural Ireland, with the key objective of ensuring our rural towns, villages and communities are attractive places to live, work and raise a family. Our Rural Future aims to move beyond preventing decline, towards a future characterised by opportunity, well-being and quality of life which will attract people back to rural areas. In this regard, I was happy to note that the preliminary results from Census 2022 showed in increase in population in all counties since 2016.

The implementation of Our Rural Future is based on a whole-of-Government approach over a five-year timeframe, with measures being delivered across more than 20 departments and agencies and through sectoral strategies such as the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan, Food Vision 2030, the National Remote Working Strategy and my own Department's new National Outdoor Recreation Strategy.

In addition to work taking place across Government, my Department has an annual budget of approximately €200 million for a suite of dedicated rural development programmes such as the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, the National Connected Hubs Network of remote working facilities and the Town and Village Renewal Scheme. In recent months I have also announced a €45 million investment into Community Centre facilities across the country – the largest ever capital investment for their upgrade and development.

Updates on Our Rural Future policy implementation are provided by six-monthly Progress Reports and Annual Work Programmes; the latter allowing for revised priorities in light of emerging opportunities and challenges.

The Second Progress Report was published in August, with a completion rate of 72% on actions, with the Third Progress Report to be published early in 2023. Officials in my Department are also currently engaged in a programme of bilateral meetings with relevant departments as part of the development of the 2023 Work Programme.

I am delighted with the sustained level of engagement across Government to support the ambition of Our Rural Future; the high level of progress to date demonstrates this Government’s continued commitment to rural Ireland.