Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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334. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if his Department has asked or advised local authorities to produce outdoor recreation plans; if so, what the plans are supposed to cover; and if he will supply a copy of any circular offsite in this regard. [16478/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors, the National Outdoor Recreation Strategy 2023- 2027 was published in November 2022.

A key action in the Strategy is the development of a County Outdoor Recreation Plan to reflect the priorities of the national strategy in each county. This will create a more strategic approach and ensure that available funding and resources are better aligned with national and county priorities.

At the end of 2023, my Department announced funding of €780,000 to support the development of County Outdoor Recreation Plans and issued new national guidelines to assist in their preparation Funding of up to €30,000 has been made available for each county to develop a short, focused plan to help guide the development of their outdoor recreation amenities. Funding for 22 counties has now been approved, with all plans expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

Applications were invited from the local authorities or local development companies for grant funding to support the development of a County Outdoor Recreation Plan by 1st April 2024. However my Department is continuing to engage with any areas that weren't in a position to apply by the closing date.

These county outdoor recreation plans will set out the objectives and actions needed to promote the development of outdoor recreation in the county by all relevant stakeholders in partnership with each other. The plans should take into account the current outdoor recreation amenities in an area and outline where outdoor recreation infrastructure and services should be located over a five-year period. It is anticipated that in time the funding decisions of applications submitted under the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) and potentially other funding sources will be linked to the plan.

The guidelines for developing a County Outdoor Recreation Plan and a copy of the application form for funding to develop a plan are available at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/policy-information/43eee-embracing-irelands-outdoors-national-outdoor-recreation-strategy-2023-2027/#county-outdoor-recreation-plans.