Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Our Rural Future contains a range of measures to support the sustainable economic and social development of rural Ireland. Under this policy, significant investment has been made in rural Ireland in recent years through various schemes such as my Department's Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, and the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure scheme, to name but a few.

The LEADER programme is also a key intervention of Our Rural Future . The programme is based on a community-led approach to rural development and plays an important role in supporting communities and enterprises in progressing job creation, social inclusion and environmental projects at local level. The Programme is designed to support initiatives that will have the greatest impact on a community’s development.

A new LEADER programme for the period 2023-2027 has now commenced across the country. The emphasis of this new programme, which builds on the many successful previous programmes, will include the continued development of the rural economy. There will also be a strong focus on building the capacity of marginalised and new communities, particularly in areas that have not benefited from LEADER support in the past.

Recent years have seen unprecedented levels of financial support for rural Ireland across the range of schemes operated by my Department. I am confident that LEADER will continue to play a vital role in the coming years in delivering locally led projects which deliver very real impact for communities across the country.