Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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2775. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the initiatives in place to address rural depopulation in areas affected by it; and the way in which success is being measured. [47176/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Our Rural Future, the whole-of-government policy for sustainable rural development in Ireland, seeks to ensure that rural areas are attractive for people to live, work and raise their families. In line with this, one of the high-level outcomes set out in the policy is for an increase in the number of people living in rural areas.

According to the OECD, rural remote regions in Ireland recorded the highest population growth of all OECD countries between 2001 and 2021 and CSO figures show a 7% increase in highly rural remote areas between 2011 and 2022. Within this context, however, I am aware that there are variations across rural areas within these overarching figures, however, and the sustainability of all rural areas is a key focus for Government.

As the Deputy will be aware, 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.

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.

The new policy will build on the momentum of Our Rural Future and the actions delivered to support our aim of increasing the population in rural areas through initiatives focused on remote working, broadband and digital connectivity, rural transport, support for rural enterprises, support for the agri-food sector, and more.

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 Regeneration and 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.

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