Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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45. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will report on the work and progress of 'Our Rural Future'. [20533/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Our Rural Future is the whole-of-government policy for sustainable rural development in Ireland. The policy was published in March 2021, and contains more than 170 commitments for delivery by government departments and their agencies. These measures support the economic, environmental, cultural and social development and wellbeing of rural communities.

Policy updates are provided through six-monthly Progress Reports and annual Work Programmes. The development of each Annual Work Programme allows for new measures and actions. These are added in light of any revised priorities, emerging opportunities and challenges.

The Fifth Progress Report, which provides updates for Quarter 3 and Quarter 4 2023, and the 2024 Work Programme have now been published. These are available to view, alongside previous Progress Reports and Work Programmes, on my Department's website at www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/c6f5d-our-rural-future/.

Looking at the broader implementation of Our Rural Future which runs until end 2025, of the original 154 measures, 46 (30%) are being implemented and are of an ongoing nature. Of the remaining 107 measures, a total of 87 (57%) have now been completed, although in many cases, activity beyond the original commitment is continuing and will be reported on over the remaining period of the policy. I am delighted at the level of progress to date across all contributing departments, which highlights this government’s continued commitment to rural Ireland.

As we are now in year 4 of the five-year policy, my Department has started the process of developing a successor to Our Rural Future. To support and inform this process, in December last I commissioned the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to conduct an independent review of rural policy in Ireland. The review has commenced and is due for completion in Quarter 2 of 2025, with officials in my Department liaising closely with the OECD for the duration of the review.