Departmental Policies
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-05
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Dara Calleary (FF), Mayo

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.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-05/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:36+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-05