Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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520. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the main policy achievements of her Department since 27 June 2020; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27968/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department has made significant progress with regard to both policies and programmes since the 27th June 2020, focusing on our rural and community development remit, and our commitments under the Programme for Government.

Each year my Department publishes an Annual Report which provides a comprehensive overview of the wide range of policies, programmes and initiatives developed and delivered by my Department in the previous year. Annual Reports from 2020 onwards are available at . My Department’s Annual Report for 2023 will be published shortly.

My Department’s most recent Statement of Strategy was published in August 2023, and sets out my Department's mission “to promote and support vibrant, inclusive and sustainable communities throughout Ireland”.

My Department has two overarching policies which support the realisation of this mission - Our Rural Future the Government's Rural Development Policy for 2021-2025, and Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities, the five-year strategy to support the community and voluntary sector in Ireland.

The very successful ongoing implementation of Our Rural Future since its launch in 2021 has been a significant achievement of my Department. Progress updates are published every six months and a specific work programme is developed for each year of the policy.

The rural development investment programme continues to support the revitalisation of rural Ireland by delivering schemes including the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, the LEADER Programme, Town and Village Renewal, the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme and the CLÁR Programme.

Furthermore, policies and strategies which form part of Our Rural Future, including the Towns Centre First Strategy and the National Outdoor Recreation Strategy continue to be successfully implemented, bringing real benefits for towns, villages and communities all over Ireland.

Of particular note is the publication of the national islands policy, Our Living Islands in June 2023 - the first such policy to be published in 27 years. It is an ambitious ten-year strategy, underpinned by an Action Plan for the period 2023-2026. The Action Plan consists of 80 new time-bound actions agreed with, and to be implemented by, various stakeholders, led by a nominated Government Department or State Agency.

With regard to Community Development, key funding programmes including the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP), the Community Services Programme (CSP) and the Community Centre Investment Fund (CCIF) continue to make positive and lasting impacts in our communities, strengthening our social fabric.

Once-off targeted funding measures help to support communities to respond to challenges they face, since 2020 this has included emergency COVID funding, energy supports to deal with the impact of inflation and significant funding to support the response to new arrivals.

My Department has also successfully implemented existing polices which support Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities, including the National Volunteering Strategy. The new National Public Library Strategy 2023-2026 was published in July 2023.

More recently, in November, the Dormant Accounts Action Plan 2024 was published, setting out the measures across Government that will be funded from the Dormant Accounts Fund in 2024.

Last November, at the fifth National Social Enterprise Conference, I launched a report commissioned by my Department on the implementation of our social enterprise policy, entitled “Boosting Social Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise Development in Ireland”. Following on from Ireland's first Social Enterprise Policy in 2019, a successor social enterprise policy is currently being developed in partnership with the sector and it is expected to be launched in 2024.

It is also worth noting that the second National Civic Forum for dialogue between the state and the community and voluntary sector also took place in November, with the forum examining how to develop and strengthen deliberative and participative approaches to public policy making at a national and local level.

This builds on work developing policy and practices that support engagement at all levels such as my Department’s Guide to Inclusive Community Engagement in Local Planning and Decision-Making (2023), and Values and Principles for Collaboration and Partnership-Working with the Community and Voluntary Sector at a Local and National Level (2022).

Finally, last December, my Department published a new National Philanthropy Policy. The policy sets out specific actions to enable philanthropy to grow and thrive in Ireland for the public benefit and for the social good.

I am proud of the comprehensive range of policy achievements delivered and implemented by my Department in recent years. I am confident it provides a solid, foundation for meaningful progress and targeted interventions, empowering communities across the country to thrive.