My question relates to the old chestnut of Our Rural Future, which we have discussed many times in the Chamber and outside it. When does the Minister intend to publish the successor document? I understand there was a period of consultation late last year. I participated in that consultation, as did many others around the country. Will that new strategy include clear, measurable targets for rural services, rural employment, ensuring population sustainability, addressing the demographic crisis and, crucially, the issue of rural housing?

Since its launch in 2021, Our Rural Future has delivered vital investment and supports to rural areas that have strengthened local economies and improved the quality of life for people across rural Ireland. Measures already completed support many of the high-level issues the Deputy referred to, not just today but in his submission, including high-speed broadband, support for rural enterprise, increased rural transport services and ongoing support for many sectors, including agrifood.

The programme for Government commitment to publish and implement a new Our Rural Future strategy is currently being finalised. The new policy will build not just on the progress already achieved but will set out a renewed vision for the whole-of-government approach to rural development for the years ahead. It will contain commitments that reflect our continued ambition for rural areas that will make them an attractive prospect for people to work in and especially to live in.

Informed by the extensive public and stakeholder engagement already undertaken, a consultation paper setting out the key proposed themes and priorities was published for a public consultation, which closed on 12 December last. Engagement with all relevant Departments is ongoing to secure ambitious commitments for delivery under the new plan that will build not just on the success of Our Rural Future but on other plans. That engagement is consistent with ensuring that Government priorities in key areas, such as housing, will help to secure a more sustainable and resilient future for our rural communities.

To give the Deputy an idea of the level of engagement, an online survey in March 2025 attracted almost 1,300 responses, over 500 people attended eight in-person events led by the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and at the end of that consultation period referred to, we had over 250 responses we are currently going through and analysing. As I said, we are engaging with Departments. I also attended and participated in a rural youth assembly in September 2025. As I said to Deputy Smith, we have engaged with a range of sporting and other organisations in one-on-one meetings to discuss their concerns.

I do not doubt the level of engagement that took place, which I welcome. It is the right way to do consultation and engagement. When a plan such as this that is of such importance to the future of rural Ireland is being put together, it is vitally important to go out and take the views of people. It is then more important, and the Minister knows this, to ensure that those views are captured in the final document and the recommendations therein are concrete, actionable and, crucially, have timelines and responsible parties attached to them, by which I mean Departments and State agencies.

Does the Minister have a timeline? Notwithstanding the volume of work and analysis required following that process of engagement, does he have a timeline for the publication of the document this year? My contention is slightly different from his in that I do not accept that the previous iteration included very concrete and defined goals that could be used as a yardstick to any great extent. There was a lot of aspiration but it lacked substance, vision and, crucially, as I have discussed with the Minister in the Chamber, an emphasis on housing. I imagine that came through very clearly to him in his engagement with young people, as did the demographic collapse, as mentioned in the previous question, that is affecting so many rural communities precisely because of housing.

The process of developing a new Our Rural Future is going on in tandem with the other process, which is the OECD review of rural development policy in Ireland. We will publish that review shortly. I am intent on having the new Our Rural Future published ahead of the summer.

Housing has been one of the major inputs in terms of submissions. As I said in reply to Deputy Smith, we are engaging with an Roinn tithíochta, the Department of housing, on rural planning guidelines. It is essential we give opportunities for younger people and younger families to relocate and move back, in line with the opportunities that have happened in terms of infrastructure, such as broadband, and community facilities. As I said earlier as Gaeilge, I absolutely agree with him on the need for childcare and preschool facilities for those who are collocated, in particular. It is not just for Gaeilgeoirí, although especially for them, but for young families to have those facilities. We have also invested significantly in hubs to give people the opportunity to work from rural areas and in high-tech secure areas. That will allow them to do that. There are a range of issues, but my current timeline is that we will have Our Rural Future published ahead of the summer.

One of the concerns and worries I have on this, and I am not entirely sure if the Minister shares this but it is realistic, is the level of engagement he will get from his colleagues in government around the Cabinet table and from State agencies in the local government sector. That is why I am so keen to see clear, responsible persons or agencies attached to every single action and timeline within the plan. The biggest one is the Department of housing, as it covers housing and local government, but there is also the Department of enterprise, when looking at employment and tourism as well. I am quite keen that there be ongoing engagement and liaison at the highest level, Minister to Minister, to ensure that the final objectives and goals laid down in that plan, which we all eagerly await, will be measurable and there will be a level of accountability. That is something the Minister needs to bring back to Cabinet and to Government to make sure that not only is the plan read, at the very least, but its actions are understood at the highest level in each of the Departments and agencies responsible and at local government level.

I absolutely assure the Deputy this will be led from the highest level. There is a commitment in the programme for Government that this be a whole-of-government approach. The Taoiseach, Tánaiste and the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, have directed all our ministerial colleagues to engage in this. If studs have to go on, they will go on but I do not think they will have to because there is genuine interest in ensuring the success of this programme. Fáiltímid roimh an bplean gníomhaíochta do sheirbhísí poiblí. Bhí moladh ann do gach Roinn agus bhí an Roinn in aice le gach moladh.

When we published the service plan last week, it included an action and a Department that owned the action. I have set up within Roinn na Gaeltachta a unit to drive that within Our Rural Future. It is my intention to publish actions and publish the lead Department, and to have a system of driving that from within our Department. I assure the Deputy we have the support of the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, in terms of leaders in government to drive this on to ensure it is ambitious. We will engage with all Government agencies. Local authorities also have a responsibility here. We will drive them but they also have to be driven by their own internal members as well.

Tá a fhios agam gur chuir an tAire freagra chugam maidir leis seo píosa ó shín, ach tá sé an-tábhachtach na hiarrachtaí a chur chun cinn agus labhairt fúthu chomh minic agus is féidir mar gheall ar an ngéarchéim tithíochta atá sa Ghaeltacht.

Aontaím go mór leis an Teachta agus gabhaim buíochas leis as ucht na ceiste faoin tábhacht a bhaineann le tithíocht sa Ghaeltacht. Níor mhiste a nótáil go mbaineann saincheisteanna tithíochta leis an Roinn Tithíochta, Rialtais Áitiúil agus Oidhreachta. É sin ráite, is é príomhchuspóir Údarás na Gaeltachta ná a chinntiú go mairfidh an Ghaeilge mar phríomhtheanga an phobail i gceantair Ghaeltachta agus go gcaomhnófar í do na glúnta atá le teacht. Chuige sin, cuireann an t-údarás maoiniú ar fáil do raon leathan tionscnamh forbartha, fiontraíochta agus fostaíochta. Tacaíonn an eagraíocht chomh maith le gníomhaíochtaí straitéiseacha a bhaineann le forbairt teanga, cultúir agus pobail. Is fiú a thabhairt faoi deara, mar sin, gur ról tánaisteach a bheidh ag Údarás na Gaeltachta ag oibriú leis na geallsealbhóirí cuí maidir le tacú le soláthar tithíochta sa Ghaeltacht.

Tá punann suntasach réadmhaoine ar fud na Gaeltachta á bhainistiú ag Údarás na Gaeltachta agus tá bonneagar fuíolluisce ar láithreacha éagsúla mar chuid de sin. Mar a leagtar amach i bplean tithíochta an Rialtais, tá deiseanna ann don údarás comhoibriú le húdaráis áitiúla ábhartha chun leas a bhaint as an mbonneagar atá ann cheana féin trí chur chuige straitéiseach plean-bhunaithe ar mhaithe le freastal ar riachtanais tithíochta i bpobail na Gaeltachta. Bhí cruinniú agam le príomhfheidhmeannach an údaráis chun é seo a phlé agus tuigim ón chruinniú sin go bhfuil plé ar bun leis na húdaráis áitiúla agus an deis ann oibriú le hUisce Éireann chun tairbhe a bhaint as an mbonneagar reatha sin. Tá mé ag cur cruinnithe le chéile idir an údarás agus Uisce Éireann chun na deiseanna seo a phlé.

Cé go bhfuil ganntanas cóiríochta cónaithe sa Ghaeltacht, tá ceann de na rátaí folúntais is airde sa tír le feiceáil inti freisin. Chun dul i ngleic leis seo, tá comhordaitheoir tiomnaithe tithe folmha Gaeltachta ceaptha le déanaí, i gcomhpháirtíocht le húdaráis áitiúla agus maoinithe ag an údarás, chun cabhrú le pobail aghaidh a thabhairt ar shaincheisteanna folúntais agus rochtain ar dheontais éagsúla de chuid an Stáit a éascú.

Glacaim gur ról tánaisteach atá ag an údarás ach mar a dúirt an tAire, tá ról suntasach aige i saol na Gaeltachta. Tá sé ag déanamh oibre maithe le blianta fada. Glacaim leis chomh maith nach bhfuil sé éasca d’eagraíocht nach bhfuil aon chleachtadh ná taithí aici ar chúrsaí tithíochta tús a chur leis an dualgas sin, go háirithe gan an fhoireann. Glacaim leis go bhfuil sé ráite ag an Aire anois go bhfuil duine fostaithe ag an údarás chun oibriú sa réimse seo, agus gabhaim buíochas as sin. Ceapaim go bhfuil an duine sin lonnaithe i gContae Mhaigh Eo. Is tús maith é sin.

Chomh maith leis seo, cuirim fáilte go raibh cruinniú ag an Aire leis an bpríomhfheidhmeannach agus go bhfuil an tAire ag eagrú cruinnithe eile idir an t-údarás agus Uisce Éireann. Molaim don Aire gur cheart do dhuine ón Roinn tithíochta, nó duine ó na comhairlí contae áitiúla a bhfuil ceantar Gaeltachta acu ina limistéir, a bheith ag an gcruinniú sin chomh maith, cosúil le hoifigeach ó Chomhairle Chontae na Gaillimhe, Comhairle Contae Mhaigh Eo, Comhairle Contae Chiarraí nó Comhairle Cathrach agus Contae Phort Láirge, mar shampla. Tá ról acu, mar a dúirt an tAire.

Bhí cruinniú iontach agam le príomhfheidhmeannach an údaráis agus phléigh muid na sites go léir atá aige. B’fhéidir go mbeidh muid in ann iad a réiteach le haghaidh tithíochta agus gach duine a fháil ar na tograí sin sa Ghaeltacht. Pléifidh muid é sin. Is maith an tuairim í go mbeidh duine ó na húdaráis áitiúla i láthair freisin.

Tá mé ag obair leis an Aire tithíochta, an Teachta Browne, chun go mbeidh muid in ann an ráiteas tithíochta Gaeltachta a fhoilsiú chomh luath agus is féidir. Tá mé fós ag oibriú air sin. Bhí cruinniú agam le príomhfheidhmeannaigh na n-údarás áitiúla a bhfuil ceantar Gaeltachta acu ina limistéir agus beidh cruinniú eile agam leo. Tá mé ag díriú isteach ar an ndúshlán seo. Tá sé tábhachtach dom. Caithfidh mé oibriú leis an Aire tithíochta, an Teachta Browne, freisin. Ní bhaineann an dúshlán seo le Roinn na Gaeltachta amháin; is dúshlán é do Roinn na tithíochta freisin. Tá muinín agam go bhfuil sí ag leagan amach na ndeiseanna chun an dúshlán mór seo a réiteach.

Tugann sé muinín do mhuintir na Gaeltachta a chloisteáil go bhfuil an méid sin déanta againn go dtí seo. Glacaim leis gur tús é ach is maith an rud é go bhfuil an tAire ag labhairt leis na daoine tábhachtacha sin, lena n-áirítear Údarás na Gaeltachta, an Roinn tithíochta agus na húdaráis áitiúla, chun béim a chur ar an tábhacht a bhaineann le cúrsaí tithíochta sa Ghaeltacht. Tá mé dóchasach anois, tar éis an mhéid atá ráite ag an Aire, go mbeidh dul chun cinn againn air seo i mbliana, chomh maith le foilsiú na dtreoirlínte, rud atá thar a bheith tábhachtach. Tá a fhios agam go bhfuil an Roinn ag oibriú ar na treoirlínte tuaithe chomh maith agus, b’fhéidir, ba cheart an dá ceann acu a chur le chéile agus an dá chóip treoirlínte sin a fhoilsiú le chéile, mar téann siad le lámh a chéile.

Is fadhb í an tithíocht ar fud na tíre ach is í an Ghaeltacht an t-aon áit sa tír ina bhfuil tionchar díreach aici ar ár dteanga féin, ar thodhchaí na teanga agus ar thodhchaí na Gaeilge mar theanga pobail. Más rud é nach bhfuil tithe ar fáil sa Ghaeltacht, ní féidir le daoine cur fúthu inti agus bíonn an baol ann go mbogfaidh siad go ceantair ina bhfuil an Béarla mar ghnáththeanga. Is mór an gá agus fainic atá air seo.

Tá an t-uafás oibre le déanamh air seo. Tá sé in am tógáil, ach tá muid ag déanamh na hoibre. Ba bhreá liom go ndéanfaí athrú níos tapúla, ach tá muid ag déanamh na hoibre agus tá muid ag tabhairt na gcéimeanna go gcaithfidh muid a thabhairt ag an bpointe seo. Tá mé fós ag coinneáil brú agus ag déanamh na hoibre. Beidh mé i gcruinniú le príomhfheidhmeannach an údaráis amárach agus oibreoidh mé leis. Tá muid chun labhairt le hUisce Éireann agus na húdaráis áitiúla freisin. Mar a luaigh an Teachta, tá sé thar a bheith tábhachtach go dtuigeann daoine go bhfuil ról le haghaidh na Roinne tithíochta anseo. Tá mé ag oibriú go dlúth leis an Aire tithíochta faoi seo i gcomhthéacs na ndúshlán tithíochta le haghaidh na tíre ar fad ach tá sé thar a bheith tábhachtach an dúshlán atá roimh mhuintir na Gaeltachta agus clann na Gaeltachta maidir le tithíocht a thuiscint chomh maith.

What funding is available through the Minister’s Department for community festivals such as Dunshaughlin Harvest Festival, the Hinterland Festival Kells in my area of Meath, Kells Type Trail, Moynalty Steam Threshing Festival and the Samhain Festival of Food and Culture? There are a range of excellent community festivals all over the State. I wish to know the types of funding supports available through his Department.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as ucht an eolais faoi gach uile féile i gContae na Mí. I do not think he forgot any of them. The positive impact of festivals is very much recognised by my Department, both in building local pride and boosting local economies. While we do not have a scheme specifically for community festivals, there may be avenues to support available under LEADER or the local enhancement programme, which is currently open for applications.

LEADER has been operating successfully in Ireland for 35 years. In line with the programme for Government, LEADER has a strong focus on rural tourism and funding has been made available under LEADER for festivals and local tourism initiatives. For example, the Deputy will be aware that the Samhain Festival of Food and Culture in Kells was supported by LEADER funding in 2024. In order for a project to be eligible for LEADER, funding of the proposed activity must be compatible with the actions outlined in the approved LEADER local development strategy and it must comply with the EU regulations and operating rules. As the Deputy knows, the programme is administered by local action groups. Prospective applicants or applicants organising festivals should, in the first instance, contact the local action group which, in this case, is the Meath local action group.

The local enhancement programme supports small capital grants to community and voluntary groups to improve facilities or purchase equipment. In some cases, this will help to support groups that run local festivals. The 2026 programme is now open until the end of February. It will provide €7 million in capital supports nationally.

This €7 million is broken down on a local authority by local authority basis into small capital grants. Some festivals require generators and other items. Finally, as the Deputy will be aware, we fund agricultural shows through a €1 million investment into 130 shows that we deliver through the Irish Shows Association across the country. For many communities, the agricultural show is a fantastic statement of their pride, not just in their area but in the agriculture industry that underpins their area.

Absolutely. We are grateful for that funding at the Nobber Show, Dunderry Fair and Royal Meath Show. They are well supported by the community and that is welcome. The contribution of community festivals is to strengthen social cohesion, support local economies, promote volunteerism, enhance local community identity, pride and well-being, and provide low-cost, accessible cultural experiences for people. They are fantastic. The Minister and Minister of State will appreciate that local communities look forward to them every year. They are built into the calendar. Funding is always a challenge. I ask the Minister to consider a dedicated funding stream and, more than that, for it to be multi-annual. A challenge for these groups is that there is competitive tendering and a competitive process every year. LEADER is very welcome but it has a cumbersome application for those seeking it.

I agree with the Deputy about the importance of festivals. I put on the record my thanks and that of the Minister of State to the volunteers who put them together. I am always struck that the volunteers who pull this festival together are the ones who make the least out of it. They are not involved in any of the hospitality businesses that do well. They do it together because there is massive community spirit. I assure the Deputy it is something we have looked at. Other supports are available through LEADER. The LEADER process is cumbersome because it involves EU funding, but both the Minister of State and I constantly ask our officials to ensure that the application process for any of our schemes is the least cumbersome possible, bearing in mind that volunteers are doing this. The local enhancement programme, LEP, process, which in the Deputy's case is open via Meath County Council, is a good example of a relatively less cumbersome process. We constantly keep it under review. Supports are available for festivals through Fáilte Ireland, the Department of tourism and local authorities. The model that we have with the Irish Shows Association, which had its annual general meeting in November in Trim, coincidentally, is a good model, in which we fund a national organisation, which, in turn, funds 130 local organisations.

I do not know if the Minister is hearing of the issue of insurance but I am sure he is. It is tangentially his responsibility in supporting projects such as this. As I said in my previous contribution, these festivals are important for local communities for reasons we all agree on. Insurance can be a challenge and put some of them at risk. That is potentially increasingly the case. Is the Minister aware of that, discussing it with colleagues, and considering possible supports for groups in that regard?

I agree. Insurance costs in this country continue to be a massive challenge, particularly for festivals, but also for businesses, including small businesses. I was a Minister of State in the previous Government in the Department of enterprise, which led on this work. It is a matter of enormous frustration and anger to me that all of the work that we have done has not resulted in insurance deductions for small businesses, festivals, homeowners or car owners. Insurance continues to be a challenge for festivals and for local voluntary groups. We work with the Department of agriculture, for instance, which provides funding for insurance for shows. Insurance is a major challenge. We will definitely zero in on it. Following today's session, we will ask our officials to work with officials in the Department of tourism in this space and work with the various festivals to identify if support is available. It will not be available in 2026 as festivals get to that planning phase. Insurance is a major challenge. The insurance industry has not delivered on the reforms that this Government and previous Governments have brought in.

I am taking this question for Deputy Clarke. It relates to rural development funding, which is an issue close to my heart. We see all around us in our communities the impact it has on creating and sustaining employment and sustaining community initiatives. Last year, we saw a €5 million cut to the rural development spend in the budget. That seems to be on trend for this Government, and for successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Administrations when it comes to rural Ireland. Is it something we are likely to see replicated in budget 2027?

My Department manages its funding allocations across three programme areas: rural development, community development, agus an Gaeltacht agus na n-oileáin. For 2026, my Department's overall budget allocation is €613 million, with around €273 million in capital funding and €340 million in current funding. This represents a 7% increase on the 2025 allocation and builds on strong investment in the past number of years. The funding provision for the rural development programme has increased significantly in recent years. When the Department was established in 2017, the programme allocation for rural development was €80 million. For 2026, it is almost €193 million. That investment is having a huge impact right across the country.

Within the Revised Estimate for 2026, the rural development programme allocation of €193 million compares to a 2025 allocation of just under €197 million. This specifically reflects the fact that the provision for the LEADER programme is reduced from €42 million in 2025 to €32 million in 2026. This is an estimate based on the stage the programme is at, and the resultant level of claims that local action groups expect to make this year. I ask the Deputy to note that the full €250 million allocation for the LEADER 2021 to 2027 programme will be provided over the programme period, with funding to be ramped up as demand increases.

Finally, as I noted at the outset, I emphasise that the Department's allocation has increased by 7% for 2026. This is ensuring additional funding for programmes such as the community centre investment fund, the social inclusion and community activation programme and the community services programme. These schemes, particularly with the increase in these schemes, will benefit both rural and urban communities. The increased funding will be spread across not just urban areas but many rural areas too.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire for confirming that. I understand that the LEADER programme is a five-year programme and that there may be peaks and troughs, but a €10 million reduction in the budget this year compared with last year is still €10 million of a reduction. I welcome the fact that that money is not lost. It is not out of the budget and the Minister will bring it back. However, there is a growing sense of disillusionment in rural communities, that it is on the back foot and its days are numbers, and that there seems to be indifference from Government to the plight of rural Ireland. There is a growing need for diversification. I do not need to tell the Minister about the debate in this House last night and over the past number of weeks, and the crisis in confidence that exists in Irish agriculture. I do not need to tell him about the crisis in the Irish fishing industry. As part of the wider rural development issue, what LEADER crucially does is support economic diversification, creating opportunities in rural communities. It is concerning that €10 million has been taken out of it this year.

I am going to disagree with the Deputy. We have been agreeing all morning. I see a great and growing sense of confidence as I travel across rural Ireland. I am visiting projects across rural Ireland that are volunteer-led and community-led. They are funded by my Department in partnership with local action groups, LEADER companies and local authorities. They are projects that reflect ambition and a plan. We are in a position to fund that. My Department's funding has increased by 7% for this year.

We are ensuring that rural communities will see increased investment and funding increases in other areas. I assure the Deputy the LEADER programme will deliver its full allocated funding and I can see already the level of claims is increasing as LEADER groups are implementing the programme. The provision for the Gaeltacht and the islands is up 30% year on year from €123 million to €160 million. We discussed community centre investment earlier. That is communities with confidence in their community centres. That is going to €20 million and this year we will see the opening of new centres across the country. Funding for the community services programme, CSP, programme has gone to nearly €60 million delivering services, including community services. I see confidence and we are investing in and supporting that confidence. We are investing in ensuring that confidence makes a difference on the ground.

I will start by agreeing with the Minister that there is definitely ambition in rural communities. There is no shortage of ambition and self-awareness within these communities but on my travels and in my engagements, I do not see the confidence the Minister speaks of because rural communities are reeling. They are reeling from the demographic crisis that has already been spoken about this morning. Indeed, Deputies from the Minister's side of the House mentioned that the GAA is very quick to point to, and has the statistics and evidence to back it up, instances where teams cannot pull sufficient players together to compete, where young people are being forced to go abroad or to larger urban areas or the cities to find housing solutions, where schools are struggling to keep children enrolled, where public services are bare on the ground and where people cannot access dentists or GP services. There is huge disillusionment in rural Ireland and if we in this Chamber are unable to acknowledge that, if we do not see and if our ears are open but we are not picking up on that, we have a difficulty. I am not filled with a huge amount of confidence a corner will be, or has been, turned. Going back to the rural development piece, we really do need to see that €10 million in additional funding being made available. I look forward to that and will be keeping a close watch on it because it is crucially important to the communities I represent.

I reiterate that we are backing that confidence. We are backing the confidence in rural communities and the confidence that is led by volunteers and are working with organisations, local authorities, development agencies and local development companies in terms of doing that. I can assure the Deputy the LEADER programme is fully funded and will deliver. We do have a challenge and I think I have been very straight in discussing it. We are working on the challenge regarding the next round of LEADER funding. As CAP negotiations are finalised this year, we are working hard. The Minister of State and I are working with colleagues to ensure CAP will be funded in the next EU funding programme. That presents a major challenge but it is one we are up for and are seeking to deliver on right across the country. All morning, we have discussed the community centres investment fund, CCIF, in Gaeltacht areas, in the community services programme and in the town and village renewal scheme. They are being driven by and in the interests of the rural communities and they are changing the future of rural communities. The forthcoming dedication of Our Rural Future will show our ambition as a Government working in partnership. The various independent analyses of our Our Rural Future that are to come will give a good sense of our ambition in that space.

Could the Minister provide an update on the development of the new strategy to support the community and voluntary sector 2026 to 2030? When we talk about the community and voluntary sector, that takes in a whole range of things. I am talking about everything from Muirhevnamor Community Centre through to the family resource centre, FRC, that was set up in Dundalk Counselling Centre. I hope another one will be set up in the Redeemer Centre. We know the work that is done and the support that is necessary.

Gabhaim buíochas leis Teachta Ó Murchú. As the Deputy knows, the process of the development of a new strategy to support community and voluntary sector as a successor to Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities is well under way. It is being informed by an extensive public and stakeholder consultation process. This process has included an in-person consultation event, which took place in Tullamore last July and which I attended. I can tell the House it was a very well-attended event. There was strong, robust and positive engagement. This was followed by a very in-depth online public consultation together with bilateral consultation with stakeholder groups and written submissions from across Government Departments. The Minister and I are very anxious that this partnership in collaboration with the voluntary and community sector is continued. There has been a lot of engagement in the consultation process. Almost 250 submissions were received in the online consultation, which took place over a six-week period in August.

The new strategy will be a whole-of-government strategy led by our Department and will reflect the ambition of the Minister and I to work in partnership with the sector. It will be implemented collaboratively with the community and voluntary sector and will be overseen by a cross-sectoral group on local and community development. It is our intention and our ambition that the new strategy will be a four-year one for 2026 to 2030. It will build on the existing structures, strategic objectives and achievements of the previous strategy while also taking account of new context challenges and priorities for the community and voluntary sector.

Our aim is to strengthen further the relationship and the partnership between the whole-of-government and the community and voluntary sector, which has developed significantly over the past couple of years. A further round of consultations with key stakeholders has recently concluded. It is my expectation that the finalised document will be submitted for our Department's approval in the coming weeks with a tentative publication date of quarter 2 of this year.

I appreciate the timeline with the caveats the Minister of State provided. The element of engagement with the stakeholders is all very well and good but it is a matter of actually putting a plan in place and then operating it. Like any plan, it will be up for and will need review. We were talking about sustainability. We have all dealt with individual projects from time to time when the pressure is on. I had a meeting with Social Enterprise Republic of Ireland, SERI, which represents social enterprises. It would talk about the fact that sometimes social enterprises can fall by the wayside. We know we need to make sure that those operating, particularly in what would have been called RAPID or DEIS areas, are given support. We know about for family resource centres. I would have heard about the issues when we talk of whole-of-government. The idea would be that certain grant aid could be provided by enterprise, which is not necessarily available to social enterprises. I think they would speak about a number of milestones in relation to them that are needed but have not happened yet. Will the Minister of State comment on that?

The new strategy will take into account the new challenges facing the community and voluntary sector. It is evolving and changing and we are not oblivious to that. Richard Bruton, in the social enterprise space, will certainly drive and hold us to account. The previous strategy delivered significant progress in terms of a variety of metrics. Our future direction, policy and decision-making will be a reflection of our engagement but also of lived experience. The Minister and I live in communities involved in the sector and we know the sector. It is about those values and principles of partnership and collaboration but also about recognising that we must build an inclusive society. For the Minister and I, it is about ensuring the five pillars are there and that we look at them and see how we can deliver for people in an evolving and changing situation, recognising that we have made significant progress.

We all engage with the community and voluntary sector on a daily basis. Generally that is on the basis that these people can deal with some of the issues that sometimes one cannot get deal with the State agencies, particularly when we are dealing with more complex issues in communities - everything from addiction to mental health services and the supports that are required. I mention the likes of The House, the Redeemer Centre, Muirhevnamor Community Centre and Cuidigh Linn but I would also mention Creative Spark, Kilcurry Resource Centre and Haggardstown and Blackrock Community Centre. Some of these centres face incredible difficulties surviving.

They fit into different brackets.

When we talk about this policy and implementation, it is good to see there is a timeline but when we talk about the social enterprise policy, as I stated, there have been a number of milestones that have been missed and that needs to be looked at.

With regard to the national procurement strategy that is being looked at, there might be the possibility there of something that can be somewhat more sustainable. There is that idea of seed funding that makes social enterprises sustainable. I know that is only one small part but it is just on the basis that I spoke to Social Enterprise Republic of Ireland, SERI, lately.

The important point where we have shared commonality is that the Government is committed to supporting the implementation of a new strategy. The community and voluntary sector is an important pillar and we look forward to working continually to ensure that relationship is not just strengthened but that it is a partnership between the Government and the sector. I could list the Deputy a whole raft of projects, which I will not do, in his county that we have funded. I do not agree we have missed milestones. If we speak about social enterprise, it has been a success story and it has shown empowerment, innovation and employment and the opportunity presented to people. That is something we can come back to.

What the Department, the Minister, Deputy Calleary, and I are anxious to do is to provide significant seed capital and significant investment to further support and enhance-----

That is what we need.

Yes. We will continue to do that but we must also recognise that we have seen a 6% increase in the budget. We have seen an increase in terms of the community service programme, which reflects that we are in an evolving and changing world and as needs change challenges must be met. This is not something we are oblivious to. We have an open-door policy. There is engagement. We are not living in an ivory tower. If the Deputy wants to come back to me one-to-one, I am happy to sit down and chat to him about some of the issues we need to address.

I want to ask the Minister, Deputy Calleary, to consider rural communities when making policies.

I thank the Deputy for the question. Rural proofing refers to the processes adopted by policymakers to ensure that new programmes and initiatives understand, and take account of, the specific needs and capacities of rural communities. Our Rural Future, the national rural development policy, commits to strengthening our approach to rural proofing across all Government policies.

In addressing this issue, my Department commissioned a research report on rural proofing and undertook a rural proofing pilot on a number of policy initiatives across a number of Departments. This work also took cognisance of the fact that a level of rural proofing is already taking place within the current system, although it may not be labelled with a formal "rural proofing" tag.

In recognising this, my Department developed a guide to rural proofing for policymakers to build on and strengthen existing approaches, and to serve as a practical tool to assist policymakers in the rural proofing process.

Including a simplified rural proofing assessment template and key resources, the guide provides a clear outline of what rural proofing is and seeks to make rural proofing easier to understand and, most importantly, to implement. The principal purpose is to aid and support policymakers to "think rural" when developing policies. The guide, which is available online, has been circulated to all Departments and will be added to the suite of tools used by policymakers.

My officials are also continuing to bring awareness to the importance of rural proofing through the many interdepartmental groups they participate in and in the ongoing engagements we have referred to with other Departments regarding the development of our new Our Rural Future policy.

I remain clear that by taking a clear account of rural perspectives in the policymaking process at the earliest possible stage, we will develop better and, most importantly, more effective policies for rural communities.

I must say that is an incredibly disappointing response. Let me tell the Minister what I heard. The last Government committed to developing a rural proofing model. The Minister took a look at it and said, "Hey, presto. It turns out we were doing it perfectly all along." The Minister then decided to make this a guide for rural proofing for policymakers. The Minister can do more. Where is rural proofing when it comes to free travel cards for kids effectively excluded in many rural communities? The Government did the same thing with the young adult travel card many years before this. Where was rural proofing when the Government jacked up the carbon tax earlier this year, disproportionately hitting rural dwellers without access to public transport? Will the Minister outline the great successes of his rural proofing model?

Rural proofing is delivering a record budget for the Department of Rural and Community Development agus an Gaeltacht - an investment that is going to make a difference in rural communities right across the country. Rural proofing is ensuring that Government is delivering on policies in many areas. I was in Achill last Tuesday and saw TFI Anseo, a pilot rural transport scheme that brings rural transport on demand. I am delighted to assure the Deputy that it is operating very successfully. We will work with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, as the Minister of State in charge in that space, to develop services in rural communities right across the country.

We are delivering record capital investment. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, is delivering current investment. We spoke earlier about the community centre investment programme, and we may get to Deputy Gould's question on this. It is transforming community facilities in rural communities. We have spoken throughout the morning about rural ambition being delivered from within communities that is being matched by Government support and by Government ambition, which we clearly outlined in the new Our Rural Future policy, a policy that will be a whole-of-government one and which will drive rural proofing across all Departments and agencies.

A budget for rural transport does not cut it. I accept that the Minister inherited this poor, lacklustre approach to rural proofing from his predecessor. It comes across as a box-ticking exercise; a sop to those who care about it while the Minister ditches an idea his Government decided not to follow through on.

I appeal to the Minister to review the Rural Needs Act 2016 that was introduced to the Assembly by the Sinn Féin deputy leader, Michelle O'Neill, in 2016. As the Minister will see, it is a much bigger body of work, and it went in to many more policies than the Government is including. I ask the Minister to consider this policy, read it and see what other substantive work he could do to underpin rural proofing. If we look at the two guides, it is apparent that one is serious about giving consideration to rural needs. I again ask the Minister to consider this policy Michelle O'Neill brought forward and everything within it that could be adapted.

I will happily compare everything we are doing here to what is happening under other governments and under First Minister O'Neill. The Deputy referred to my predecessor. My predecessor delivered €440 million to over 160 projects through RRDF since 2020, over €235 million through the town and village renewal scheme and over €110 million through the rural social scheme. This money is changing and transforming rural communities across the country.

As Minister, Heather Humphreys, ensured a revolution in terms of the schemes initiated by the Department. I am building on that and on extra investment, working with Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, to do that. We are also driving it. It is not just our Department, a point I made to Deputy Smith earlier. We are in charge of rural policy but every Department has a role in it. As we discussed with Deputy McGuinness, the Deputy will see that in the new Our Rural Future policy, actions will be assigned to Departments, and we will drive the delivery of those actions.

I am very happy to compare what we are doing here and to compare the ambition with what we are doing here. I would like to do more of it and I assure the Deputy that I will.

Will the Minister update the House on his plans to reopen the shovel-ready community centre scheme? This is a really important scheme for communities and it must be reopened.

We had a very good discussion earlier and I agree with the Deputy about the importance of the community centre investment fund, CCIF, which was introduced to provide high-quality, accessible community spaces available to all groups in communities. Some €110 million has been allocated since 2022 for the enhancement and refurbishment of existing community centres and the construction of 12 new centres in areas around the country where a need was identified.

The 2023 community centre investment fund was opened specifically for those groups striving to build their own community centre. That scheme provided funding of up to €6 million for new community centres on greenfield or brownfield sites.

Over €30 million was approved for the construction of 12 new community centres under the scheme. These projects involve considerable levels of investment but will have a transformational impact in the communities in which they are located. I have visited and made it a priority to engage with these projects and I am delighted to say that seven of the 12 projects have received final approval. They have appointed contractors, with the remaining five progressing through tender and design stage.

My priority in relation to this element of the scheme is to ensure those projects progress to completion and that communities will begin to see the real benefits of the investment. My focus for 2026 is to deliver a CCIF round to support the refurbishment work on existing community centres. There are hundreds of community groups out there that want enhancement works for their facilities. I understand that at the same time, there are areas that require a new centre. While my immediate focus is on delivering refurbishment this year, it is my intention to direct further iterations of funding towards support for new-build projects.

I also note that there are substantial levels of investment under way in community facilities through LEADER and the town and village renewal scheme. I would particularly direct the Deputy there if he has projects in mind in regard to the building acquisitions measure and also the rural regeneration and development fund, RRDF.

I welcome the investment in existing community centres in order to refurbish them. A lot of them are just old and need investment. I support that but I am very disappointed by the Minister's lack of commitment to reopening the shovel-ready projects scheme that was there. I have a few examples. The Fairfield community association is operating out of a house it owns in Fairfield. It deals with hundreds of children and different groups. It is an area that has been promised a community centre for 30 years. The volunteers are doing Trojan work. They have done a site survey and put plans together but their real fear, and my fear, is that when they are ready to go, the funding will not be available for this project. These are volunteers. Where is the support? There is one other thing I will ask the Minister to really take on board. Should we have supports to help communities because these are volunteers putting these plans together? I refer to, maybe, a one-stop shop where communities can come together when planning for their centres, whether it is meeting new specifications or delivering new centres. Communities need support.

There are supports available but the Deputy has given me an idea to think about in terms of centralising some of the supports there. In regard to the new-builds in particular, I am anxious to ensure the ones that were announced are up and running. We will take the lessons of those and put them into somewhere for communities to assist in bringing new builds on. The new builds programme is a priority because I understand there are many communities that need a new-build facility. I assure the Deputy it is a priority for me and the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, during our term in the Department, that we will have another round of new builds.

The work the Deputy just described is the kind of work that needs to be under way now to prepare for an application process in terms of getting all those pieces together. Many of the new builds we are working on have been done in association with either local authorities or local development companies, which also have the expertise to assist community groups in doing that. I can give the Deputy some information as to what local groups can support in terms of providing that skill and expertise. The Deputy has given me an idea there and we will work on that in regard to a resource for communities.

The Minister is expecting volunteers who work with kids in the community to be planners, engineers, administrators or negotiators. If they are trying to get a project over the line, it all falls on the volunteers.

We have another situation in St. Joseph's Community Centre in Mayfield. That has now passed planning so this will bring a state-of-the-art library and community centre to Mayfield but there is no funding there for it. It lost out on the library capital programme, so there is no funding and now the shovel-ready projects scheme is closed. Where does St. Joseph's Community Centre in Mayfield and its library go? It is at risk of its planning running out before the money becomes available. I am not trying to be political here but the facts are that places like Fairfield and Mayfield have been underinvested in. They feel forgotten about. Will the Minister give a commitment to both Fairfield and St. Joseph's that the funding will be available when they are ready?

I cannot give commitments on the floor of the House to specific groups without seeing the detail. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, is engaging and working hard with the Mayfield community in particular. We have substantially transformed the funding opportunities available for libraries in recent years. That funding is available through local authorities and working in partnership with local authorities. I can assure the Deputy in relation to investment in community centres. The investment in the refurbishment is very important. As we discussed earlier, this has resulted in a 90% increase in usage in existing facilities. In regard to new builds, I am very focused on delivering the current plans but also on opening up a new funding round for new builds. We will work to assist communities in terms of the knowledge and work necessary to prepare for that application process. That is work that will be worthwhile when we get to opening that particular scheme. I assure the Deputy the Government and the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer and I are very focused on backing and supporting community ambition.