Statements on Rural and Community Development

Check against delivery

Go raibh maith agat Ceann Comhairle.

I’m delighted to have the opportunity to speak today about the work being carried out by my Department.

At the outset, I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the work of my predecessor, Michael Ring.

I think it is worth remembering when the Department of Rural and Community Development was established back in 2017, they didn’t even have a building to call their own.

What was achieved by Minister Ring and his officials in the three years since means there is now a well-run Department in place delivering real and tangible benefits to rural communities right across the country.

When I was appointed as Minister in June, I was determined to build on that good work and that is why I maintained the Department of Rural and Community Development as a standalone Department separate from my other brief in Social Protection.

There are of course strong synergies between the two Departments particularly when it comes to programmes like Community Employment, Tús and the Rural Social Scheme which do such fantastic work in local communities all across the country.

I, along with Minister Joe ‘O’Brien, will be looking to strengthen that work further by bringing a more joined-up and coordinated approach to the two Department’s work in that area.

There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed every aspect of our lives – how we socialise, how we work, how we study, and how we interact with others.

But the crisis has also reminded us of the value of communities working together to support each other and helping the most vulnerable in our communities.

The COVID crisis has also shown us that we can adapt to difficult situations and be innovative in how we approach things.

It has given us an opportunity to re-value the importance of rural economies to our overall national development, and to reimagine the potential for what rural Ireland and its people can achieve.

There is no “one-size-fits-all” when we talk about rural Ireland.

Different places have different strengths and different needs.

Some rural areas are close to large urban centres; other are very remote.

The offshore islands have their own unique needs because of their peripheral nature, but they also have great strengths.

Recognising and realising the different needs of rural communities will be a key focus of the new Rural Policy which I am currently developing.

This policy will build on the progress achieved through the Action Plan for Rural Development, which concluded in 2019.

As we emerge from the COVID-19 crisis and look to the future, my message is simple - rural Ireland must be a central part of our national economic and social recovery.

When we talk about recovery, we need to ensure that it is a balanced recovery that reaches all parts of our country.

The new rural policy will address the impact of COVID-19 on rural areas, but it will also be forward-looking and ambitious and seek to realise opportunities for rural areas.

It really is time to reframe the narrative around the rural-urban divide.

Our national recovery requires a holistic approach, involving the contribution of both urban and rural areas.

With a country of our size, and with our strong dependence on sectors such as Agri-food and Tourism, the separation of “urban” and “rural” in our language is no longer helpful.

The two are interdependent and we need to recognise that.

The process of developing the rural policy has included a wide range of consultation events with key stakeholders, including Government Departments, State agencies, rural stakeholder groups, young people, and the wider public.

The inputs from these consultations are being factored into the drafting of the policy.

I am also engaging in a series of bilaterals with other Ministers to ensure that the new policy reflects the whole of Government response which is needed to drive forward ambitious and positive change for rural Ireland in the years ahead.

I hope to be in a position to bring the final policy to Government for approval in the near future and I would welcome the views from Deputies over the course of this debate on what they believe is needed in that policy.

One of the key areas of focus in the policy will be ensuring that we can maximise the huge opportunities that remote working presents for rural development.

I really believe remote working, or connected working as I prefer to call it, will be a game changer for rural Ireland.

Last year, remote working was just a concept or an aspiration.

Now because of COVID, it is an everyday working reality for thousands of workers.

When you look at major companies like INDEED and Microsoft who have told their staff that they can work remotely for the long term – I think that highlights the potential for rural development.

This week marks one year since the National Broadband Plan contract was signed.

Nobody is questioning now whether it was the right decision to sign that contract.

The NBP is the single biggest investment in rural Ireland since electrification and I think COVID has proven beyond doubt that the decision to sign the contract last year was absolutely the right call.

There are benefits across the board from remote working

• People can live and work in their own locality
• They have access to more affordable housing
• And less time spent commuting means a better work-life balance and is also positive for the environment

As I’ve said before the reality is if you’re an office worker and you have good phone and broadband coverage, you can do the same job in Ballybay as Ballsbridge.

I think as a Government we need to seize the momentum around remote working now.

My Department is investing in the development of remote working hubs through schemes like the €1Billion Rural Regeneration and Development Fund and the Town and Village Renewal Scheme.

I think investment in co working facilities is important because not everybody wants to work from home permanently.

We’ll also have 200 Broadband Connection Points up and running by the end of this year and that will increase to over 300 by early next year.

My Department is also working with the Western Development Commission to build an integrated network of remote working hubs along the Atlantic Economic Corridor, from Kerry to Donegal.

The WDC has identified and mapped more than 100 remote working hubs which serve that region.

I want to see that work spread countrywide so that we can map out all of our remote working hubs across the country.

We need to know which ones are working well, which ones are under-utilised and most importantly we need to raise awareness of what’s available.

My vision at the end of that work is that we’ll have an app that people will be able to use on their phone which will mean no matter where they are in the country, they will be able to identify a remote working facility that is available for them to go and work at.

An Interdepartmental Working Group, chaired by the Secretary General of my Department, has been convened to progress that work as a priority.

As many Deputies will be aware, there is a vast array of funding streams and supports available from my Department.

A total of 139 projects have been approved for funding of €166 million under the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund to date.

These are large scale often multi million euro projects which will deliver significant impacts across rural Ireland, supporting sustainable communities, economic development and job creation.

The closing date for the third call for Category 1 large projects under the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund is 1st December 2020 and I look forward to announcing the successful projects in 2021.

The Town and Village Renewal Scheme has proven to be an extremely effective and popular support since it was established in 2016 with almost 1,200 projects approved to date for funding of over €78 million.

Funding of up to €200,000 is available for projects under Town and Village and successful projects can range from the development of digital hubs as I mentioned earlier to works to improve the public realm.

The Outdoor Recreation Scheme provides funding for the development of greenways, cycleways, walking trails, blueways and other important recreational amenities.

This scheme has an annual budget of €10 million per annum, with a further contribution made by Failte Ireland.

I think the pandemic has awoken an interest in people in terms of getting out and exploring our great outdoors.

That is something I want to build on further and I was pleased to secure an additional €2 million for the Outdoor Recreation Scheme in Budget 2021.

CLÁR is an investment programme for small-scale projects in rural areas which have suffered from depopulation.

It is a hugely popular scheme and since 2016, funding of over €36 million has been allocated for over 1,500 projects in CLÁR areas.

The CLÁR budget has been increased to €5.5 million in Budget 2021.

Then of course we also have the Community Enhancement Programme which provides small capital grants to community groups to enhance facilities in disadvantaged areas.

That scheme is administered by Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs), with support from the local authorities.

The Local Improvement Scheme provides funding for improvements to private and non-publicly maintained roads.

The scheme was reintroduced in 2017 and, since then, €58 million has been allocated to over 2,300 projects which have benefited over 10,000 landowners and residents.

The LIS allocation for 2020 was €10 million, but I have secured an extra half a million for the scheme next year.

Under the LEADER Programme, €250 million has been provided since 2016 to rural projects focused on economic and enterprise development, job creation, social inclusion and supporting the rural environment.

As of 1st November, 3,530 projects with a value of over €139 million had been approved for LEADER funding.

As Deputies are aware, the current LEADER programme comes to an end this year and the Programme for Government includes a commitment to prioritise a State-led programme to bridge the gap between the current LEADER programme and the next EU programme.

An extra €4 million has been provided for LEADER in Budget 2021, to bring the total allocation for next year to €44 million.

This allocation will be used to fund a combination of existing projects as they come to completion, as well as for new projects to be approved under the Transitional Programme.

The funding will also support the administration costs of Local Action Groups, who deliver the programme locally, in closing out the existing programme and delivering the Transitional Programme.

The details of the Transitional Programme are currently being finalised and I hope to be in a position shortly to announce the full details of project and administration allocations under the Programme.

Feedback from Deputies

So that’s a brief overview of some of the main funding streams available from my Department.

The grants available can range from a few hundred euro under the Community Enhancement Scheme right up to several million under the Rural Regeneration Fund.

One of the things I would really like to hear from Deputies during the course of this debate is if you feel there any gaps in our supports?

If for example you’re hearing about good projects in your own local areas that just can’t find a suitable funding avenue, let me know because I want to ensure our schemes meet the needs of communities on the ground.

My Department is also responsible for the public library service which has over 330 branches.

Public libraries have provided a brilliant service since the onset of the pandemic in March.

My Department funds a Libraries Capital Programme that will invest around €29m in 18 projects, as well as the My Open Library service, between 2016 and 2022.

Building on the success of the existing Libraries Capital Programme my Department approved €3m funding in September for a Small Scale Capital Works programme to support local authorities to adapt their public libraries to comply with the COVID-19 public health guidelines.

I have also just recently approved €713k for specific library supports for marginalised, socially excluded and disadvantaged communities.

My Department has provided €400,000 funding to purchase additional eBooks and eAudiobooks to meet the rising demand for online services.

Usage is now at unprecedented levels with eBook loans having increased by 122% and eAudiobook loans increasing by 111%.

I know that these services are highly valued by the library members but naturally they are looking forward to the day when they can return to their own local library again when restrictions allow.

I’m delighted to say that my Department was centrally involved in the Government’s Community Call initiative - an unprecedented mobilisation of national government, local government and the Community & Voluntary sector to support vulnerable people in our communities.

Community Call has brought in a new way of working, a renewed shared purpose and collaboration between volunteers, local and national government, and the community and local development sector.

The last few months have been a difficult time financially for community and voluntary groups.

In response to this, the Community and Voluntary Sector Covid-19 Stability Fund was a targeted cash injection for organisations and groups delivering front-line services to the most at need in our society and in danger of imminent closure due to lost fund-raised or traded income as a direct result of restrictions to counter the spread of COVID-19.

Four tranches of successful applications have been announced, allocating funding of over €30 million to 568 organisations.

This funding is now supporting the delivery of many critical front line services in every part of the country.

A decision will be finalised shortly on the distribution of an additional €10million allocation.

My colleague, Minister of State Joe O’Brien, will speak later in the debate on all of the good work that that is taking place in the Department on the community side of the Department.

To conclude Ceann Comhairle, I would like to emphasise that there are many initiatives being undertaken by my Department to support rural Ireland and our community and voluntary sector across the country.

I am glad to have the opportunity to outline some of our work today.

Rather than just having statements for the sake of it today and tomorrow, I would like to use this as an opportunity to hear the feedback from Deputies on what they feel is working well but also on what areas we can improve on.

As I mentioned earlier are there any gaps in our funding supports or do we need to change the areas of focus for some of the schemes?

I would also be happy to hear any constructive ideas that Deputies might have around the new Rural Policy.

Go raibh agat Ceann Comhairle and I look forward to hearing Deputies feedback.