I understood from the press conference after the launch of Our Rural Future that the list of actions to be worked on for this year was due at the end of that week or at least I believe it was said at the time that the timelines would be detailed in the next week. I acknowledge that this is an ambitious plan but I reiterate that it is disappointing there was not some timeframes built in there or that they were not published soon after the plan was launched. There is a real overemphasis in the plan on non-existent br…

This question is to ask the Minister about the specific measures in place to address the issue of vacant and derelict buildings in rural towns and villages, particularly in town centres, and the financial supports and incentives in place to assist people in renovating them.

I thank the Minister for outlining a number of schemes. Are the findings of the report on the town centre living initiative, in which there were pilot programmes in six towns, being taken into account with regard to the schemes to be introduced to improve and restore derelict buildings in towns? As the Minister knows, it cited a lack of co-ordinated national supports, difficulties for property owners in accessing advice and supports for bringing properties back into use, and the fact there are no financial disincen…

I welcome the town centre first approach. In fairness to the town and village renewal scheme, it includes a real and excellent level of consultation with those in the communities in which the scheme is, hopefully, going to work. I want to raise an issue. Actively working against this is the town centre public realm enhancement scheme. In Ballaghaderreen, which is my home town, there are plans to remove 67 parking spaces and replace them with a number of small green areas, with approximately 20 trees and benches. Th…

I have permission for Deputy Paul Donnelly to take this question.

I ask the Minister of State about the 400 remote working hubs to be rolled out.

The 326 hubs which have been mapped out are welcome. Obviously, things are progressing quickly, which is welcome. Is the detail on the locations mapped out published, or when will it be published? If 100 hubs are expected by year end, when will the detail of the locations of those hubs be known, so local communities and workers can plan? It is hoped workers will be going back to the office this year or be making a decision on how they will work, in terms of doing it remotely two or three times per week, or whatever…

Regarding the hubs that have been mapped out, I ask the Minister to come back to me on whether remote working hubs have been identified on the islands off the coast. The use of pubs was also a big part of the rural action plan. Has there been continued engagement on that?

This question is to ask the Minister when she will publish the new islands policy, which will be the future strategy for our islands. I also ask her to give some detail on the consultation process and the areas on which this forthcoming policy will focus.

Regarding the policy document itself, will the Minister be seeking to include timeframes and specific costs for the commitments in it? In addition, was the policy on the islands due sooner than the end of this year? I appreciate it may have been delayed with the consultation, but I thought it was closer to being completed than perhaps it is. Turning to the consultation process itself, I take it from the Minister's response that it is now fully complete. Equally, regarding engagement with other Ministers and Departm…

I ask the Minister to provide some detail on the implementation of the plan and how she plans to implement the policy in the years ahead, following its publication. Is it a five-year strategy, for example? I welcome the Minister's engagement and the extensive consultation with people who live on the islands. Of course, they are best placed to tell the Minister how their islands need to be developed and what supports they need. That is most important. I ask the Minister to provide further detail on the implementatio…

This question is about the rural proofing model referred to in Our Rural Future.

It is disappointing that work will not begin on this rural proofing model until later this year. I assume that will be after the Minister makes her initial plan for what will be carried out and what her list of actions will be for this year. Obviously, a rural proofing model is long overdue in respect of the impact of certain Government policies. In many cases it will be too late. However, it is very important. The Minister mentioned the need for the recovery to be balanced. After the last recession the recovery wa…

In regard to the engagements the Minister will have in respect of this new rural proofing model, I suggest that she engage not just internationally but also with the Northern and Western Regional Assembly which has done very good work relating to balanced regional development and the inadequacies that already exist. Unfortunately, while it is welcome to have that voice at the Cabinet, in many respects it is too late for many villages and towns. That is why we must ensure that any further Government policy decisions…

Last June, the Tánaiste opened the first e-mental health hub in Castlerea, County Roscommon in my constituency. It is a €2.6 million development to provide mental health services to children and young people through CAMHS Connect and, crucially, a day hospital for psychiatry of later life patients. The service was hailed at the time as having the potential to improve radically mental health services for patients. These were the Tánaiste's words. Perhaps if the HSE funded and staffed the service this would be the ca…

I want the funding released and the full services delivered.

Will the Minister commit to it?

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to go ahead. I welcome the Bill and commend an Teachta Sherlock on bringing it forward. There are some really interesting elements to the Bill and, overall, it aims to improve our social protection system. That system is quite complex and can be difficult to navigate for some people. One of the principles of the Bill is that the social welfare system should contribute to reducing poverty. I acknowledge that it does this already but it is important to say that it must do m…

Will the Minister provide an update on the forthcoming tender process for local employment services and job clubs? She will know that this has been a matter of concern to those who work in these services. When will the process begin, how long will it last for and will the terms of reference include a move from the current cost-met model to a cost bid model?

I was hoping to get more than a reference to "shortly", as the latter is difficult to interpret and define. If the extension of the initial services to the four new locations is expected to be rolled out from July, I imagine that the tendering process is due any day now. Perhaps the Minister could provide further details on that. What concerns me about the Minister's reply is the move to a multi-annual funding approach that pays for each jobseeker referred to the service, which is in essence JobPath. JobPath has fa…