Rural Schemes
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-21
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Conor D. McGuinness (SF), Waterford

I am glad to hear the Minister mention rural transport because that is often a key factor in accessing pubs in rural Ireland. It speaks to the need to see this not just as a matter of taxation, licensing or enterprise support but, rather, as a matter of safeguarding and maintaining rural community infrastructure. Has the Minister raised this directly with the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Deputy Burke? Has he had a specific conversation about this issue? Will he seek targeted measures or a package for rural pub viability in next year's budget? Has the Minister and his Department, or the Cabinet, given any consideration to rural development schemes that could be tailored or used to support local pubs, be they under current ownership and management or under the management or control of a social enterprise or community organisation?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-21/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:58+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-21