Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

3479. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to provide a detailed breakdown of the Our Rural Future actions completed to date and detailed reasons for non-completion of actions. [43626/25]

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

3480. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number of the actions in Our Rural Future explicitly address the unique needs of Gaeltacht communities, given that Irish-language sustainability was a stated priority; and the reason no dedicated funding stream exists for Gaeltacht-specific rural development under this plan. [43627/25]

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

3481. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the reason Our Rural Future lacks an independent review process to evaluate its impact, given that the OECD has criticised Ireland for 'monitoring gaps' in rural policy; and if he will commit to a debate in Dáil Éireann on an annual audit of the plan's outcomes. [43628/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 3479, 3480 and 3481 together.

Our Rural Future contains more than 170 commitments and implementation is monitored through a series of Progress Reports, published twice-yearly, which provide detailed updates on actions outlined in annual Work Programmes for delivery across Government.

Progress Reports are published on my department’s website: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-rural-and-community-development-and-the-gaeltacht/collections/our-rural-future-annual-work-programmes-and-progress-reports/.

The consistent high level of completion rates across the first four years of the policy shows the continued commitment by government to support rural communities. Where an action was not completed or has been delayed, detailed reasons are outlined in the published reports.

The final progress report, detailing progress on the actions in the 2025 Work Programme, is scheduled to be published by the end of 2025.

In addition to this ongoing monitoring of progress under the Policy, last year my Department, in partnership with the ESRI, published three reports focused on scoping potential high level indicators for rural development in the long term. My Department is also working with the Department of the Taoiseach on an approach to assess place-based and local well-being, in line with the National Well-being Framework and Programme for Government commitments. My Department also regularly engages with the Central Statistics Office (CSO), in terms of how their statistics can inform our work.

The Deputy will also be aware that my Department has commissioned that organisation to undertake an independent review of rural policy in Ireland, which I anticipate will be published later this year and is informing the development of the new Our Rural Future policy. An element of that review is expected to focus on identifying ways in which we can improve in the area of evaluating the outcomes of the new policy.

My Department has recently taken over responsibility for supporting communities in Gaeltacht areas across the country and there are a number of measures in Our Rural Future explicitly focused on supporting job creation in Gaeltacht areas, developing Gaeltacht tourism initiatives and promote sustainability across all aspects of Gaeltacht life.

This is a core part of Údarás na Gaeltachta's function and its mandate to support the economic, social, cultural and linguistic development of the Gaeltacht.

Funding of €38 million has been allocated to Údarás na Gaeltachta for 2025. This includes over €16 million in current funding for staffing and recruitment costs, €7 million to support ongoing programmes such Irish-medium pre-schools (Naíonraí agus Naíolainne), youth clubs and projects such as An Ghaeltacht Ghlas, which is an initiative of Údarás na Gaeltachta which places an emphasis on the viability and sustainability of Gaeltacht communities.

An tÚdarás has a capital allocation of over €15 million for 2025. In addition, Údarás na Gaeltachta receives funding from sources such as the Rural Regeneration and Redevelopment Fund, and also receives funding to oversee the Language Planning Process in Gaeltacht Language Planning Areas.

Measures 104 and 105 of Our Rural Future are specific to the protection and promotion of the Irish language, with Irish language plans in place across all Gaeltacht areas.

A budget allocation of €6.7m is provided to support the language planning process in 2025. Under this process, Gaeltacht communities, in addition to communities in Gaeltacht Service Towns and in Irish language Networks as prescribed in the Gaeltacht Act, 2012, are being afforded the opportunity to prepare and implement language plans at a community level with ongoing State support.

In order to further support the strengthening of the Gaeltacht's language and community infrastructure, annual capital assistance of €2.7m is provided to Gaeltacht committees and organisations to provide or upgrade community facilities. Specific current funding with an annual budget of €10.5m is also provided for various schemes, including the Language Assistants Scheme, Irish Language Learners Scheme and the Summer Camps Scheme.

In addition, in order to foster language acquisition opportunities in the Gaeltacht outside of the education system for learners of the language, my Department funds the Irish Language Learners Scheme (Scéim na bhFoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge) under which a daily subsidy and capital support via a starter grant are payable directly to recognised households providing accommodation for those attending one of the c.40 colleges under the scheme. Last year, over 27,000 learners attended recognised Gaeltacht courses. This represents a direct State investment of over c.€6 million annually, which indirectly benefits Gaeltacht communities.

Given the roll-out of the measures mentioned above, I am confident that my Department and Údarás na Gaeltachta will continue to have a positive impact on the development of sustainable Gaeltacht communities in the years ahead.