Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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47. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht whether his Department intends to implement the rural-typology framework recommended in the OECD’s Rural Policy Review of Ireland 2026; whether this new classification system will reform the existing categories currently used across national rural programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22975/26]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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As part of the process to develop the new Our Rural Future policy, my department commissioned the OECD to undertake an independent review of rural policy in Ireland. This will ensure that the new policy is informed by objective, independent analysis and international best practice.

The OECD published its Review on 17 February 2026. It highlights the 'unique whole-of-government approach' taken under the first Our Rural Future policy, which has increased visibility of the impact of cross-Government policies and programmes in rural areas. It also recognises the significant status given to rural policy through the establishment of the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht in 2017.

In setting out its recommendations, the OECD points to the benefits of improved use of 'rural intelligence'. This refers to wider and more effective use of data and evidence to better inform, evaluate and analyse policies and programmes that impact rural areas.

A key tool recognised by the OECD to support this is the Central Statistics Office's Six-Way Urban-Rural Classification, which is a set of typologies already in place and in use in Ireland. The classification captures variation within urban and rural areas and allows for a more nuanced understanding of rurality.

The OECD highlighted that, as the CSO classification is tailored to Ireland’s settlement patterns, it provides a more detailed and policy-relevant basis for understanding rurality than more general international frameworks. Using this approach, socio-economic data can be disaggregated by degree of rurality, supporting the development of more flexible and targeted interventions based on identified need.

The OECD Review highlighted the potential for broader integration of the CSO classification across policy. My Department is already working with the CSO in this regard and a key focus of the new Our Rural Future policy will be to strengthen the application of the classification and to develop our ‘rural intelligence’ capacity, supporting a more evidence-focused and placed-based approach to rural development.