Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Rural and Community Development (DRCD) was established in July 2017 to provide a renewed and consolidated focus on rural and community development in Ireland.

While my Department has not deliberated on introducing the community wealth building systems approach to economic development, it is continuing to progress a number of national policies of relevance. Those policies provide an integrated and strategic way of delivering supports, programmes and schemes, and coordinating measures to address imbalances or lack of opportunity, making a real difference to people’s lives. These include the National Policy on Social Enterprise and the Strategy to Support the Community & Voluntary Sector in Ireland.

The national rural development policy Our Rural Future which was launched in 2021, sets out a blueprint for the development of rural Ireland over the next five years. The policy is supported by 150 commitments across Government, which will address the challenges facing communities and deliver new opportunities for people living in rural areas.

The policy recognises the importance of place-based development and will be underpinned by investment across Government in areas such as; the roll out of high-speed broadband, remote working facilities, job creation, town centre regeneration, community development, improvements in regional and local roads, new cycling and walking infrastructure, expanded rural transport services, funding for tourism, culture and heritage projects, and a just transition to a climate-neutral society.

Ongoing dialogue is maintained by my Department with rural and urban stakeholders in order to identify and respond to issues impacting on individuals and communities. I continue to work collaboratively with my Government colleagues to monitor the issues which impact our urban and rural communities and to support the creation of vibrant and sustainable communities across this country.