Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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3435. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he is concerned about the decline of rural pubs in the past 20 years, as highlighted by a recent report (details supplied). [40787/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I note the contents of the recent Drinks Industry Group of Ireland Report on the number of pub closures since 2005. It is always of concern when a business ceases operation, particularly in a rural community. Rural pubs are an essential part of the social fabric of many rural areas, and I recognise their importance within local communities.

Our Rural Future, the whole-of-government policy for sustainable rural development in Ireland, has provided vital investment and supports, strengthened local economies and improved the lives of many people in rural communities across Ireland.

Sustaining rural businesses, in line with many of the issues addressed by Our Rural Future, requires input from a range of Government Departments. This can be seen in the range of actions that have been delivered across Government Departments under the policy to date.

Within my own Department, I am committed to ensuring that schemes and supports in place retain a clear focus on supporting the vibrancy and sustainability of rural areas. Recent years have seen unprecedented levels of financial support provided under schemes such as the Rural and Regional Development Fund, the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, the Community Centre Investment Fund, the LEADER programme, and CLÁR. I will continue to ensure that these schemes are well funded and appropriately targeted in the coming years to ensure that they can continue to provide vital supports to rural areas.

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to publish and implement a new Our Rural Future policy from 2026 and the process of developing this strategy is well underway. The attractiveness and sustainability of establishing and operating a business in rural Ireland will be a key consideration in the new policy.

More broadly, the Government has taken an active approach in supporting small and medium enterprises, including those operating in the hospitality sector. The National Enterprise Hub has been designed as an entry point to aid business owners find relevant supports and help for their business.

Recognising the impact of rising business costs on profitability and competitiveness, we have recently adopted a series of measures intended to minimise cost pressures for Irish firms. These include an extension of the timeframe for the introduction of the Living Wage by three years (to 2029) and a halt in any further increases under the Statutory Sick Leave scheme. The Government has also recently established the Cost of Business Advisory Forum to examine the cost of running a business and will shortly publish a new whole of Government Action Plan for Competitiveness and Productivity.

A priority now for my Department is the development of the successor to Our Rural Future, for the period 2026 to 2030. A comprehensive consultation process is already in train, and I would expect the new policy to again address the wide range of social, economic and environmental issues that impact on our rural areas.