2026-02-05

11. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if the cut in the rural development spend in budget 2026 is a trend he sees persisting throughout the lifetime of the current Government. [8710/26]

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.