Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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3482. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the amount of engagement and consultation with fishing communities for the next iteration of Our Rural Future. [43629/25]

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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3483. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the amount of engagement and consultation with farming communities for the next iteration of Our Rural Future. [43630/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 3482 and 3483 together.

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to publish and implement a new Our Rural Future policy from 2026.

The process of developing this strategy is well underway, informed by an independent OECD review of rural policy in Ireland, together with an extensive and ongoing public and stakeholder consultation process.

The consultation process commenced with an open online survey, followed by a series of eight stakeholder and public events which have recently taken place across rural Ireland and online.

Representatives of the farming and fishing communities were invited to these events and I am very pleased with the strong level of engagement during the consultation process to date.

The opportunities and challenges faced by these communities and their importance in supporting the economic sustainability of rural areas have featured strongly in our consultations and will continue to inform our work throughout the policy development process.

Rural development remains integrally linked to the work of all relevant Departments and we will continue our whole-of-Government approach as we develop this next phase of Ireland’s rural development policy.

Farming and fishing communities will have a further opportunity to input later this year when a policy framework document, outlining the emerging themes and priorities of the new policy, is published for a period of written public consultation. I would encourage all interested groups and bodies to take this opportunity to ensure that their views form part of the policy development process.

Government is committed to building on the success of Our Rural Future and securing a more sustainable and resilient future for rural Ireland, including our farming and fishing communities.