Construction BUSINESS

Minister Alan Kelly and Minister Ann Phelan (23 September 2015) reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to rural Ireland with the announcement of a new €30m investment in rural towns and villages. The new scheme will support the revitalisation of rural towns and villages with the aim of improving the living and working environment in rural communities and enhancing their potential to support increased economic activity into the future.

Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Alan Kelly T.D. said, “We recognise all too well the contribution that rural communities have made to overall national economic development, as well as to the development of their own local areas. Rural areas make a significant contribution to the production of the natural resources and activities which drive significant elements of national economic life such as through agriculture, food, tourism, construction materials and energy, to mention but a few. Developing and maintaining a vibrant rural economy is therefore, of major national importance as well as of particular interest to the significant communities involved. Rural Ireland will not be abandoned by this Government. The Government is committed to implementing a strategy for rural regeneration on the basis of an inclusive approach to sustainable development, the integration of policies, a regional dimension and partnership with the rural community.”

Minster of State for Rural Economic Development Ann Phelan T.D. outlined the Government’s vision of rural Ireland. Minister Phelan said, “Our vision for rural towns & villages is of vibrant, inclusive, well maintained, economically thriving areas with residential communities balanced in demographic terms with regard to age and gender. The communities inhabiting those areas should be experiencing a quality of life at least as high as that experienced in the urban centres of the country, including easy access to a necessary range of services. Our vision also includes rural areas contributing in a positive way to the national and global programme of development, which is both beneficial today and sustainable in the longer-term. This announcement today shows serious commitment by the Government to supporting our rural communities in a proactive way, ensuring that they are not left behind as the economy recovers and that they remain attractive places both to live and work in. As Minister of State with special responsibility for Rural Economic Development, I am fully committed to achieving this vision.”

Minister Phelan outlined broadly the focus of the scheme: “the central aim of the scheme is to support the revitalisation of our towns and villages in order to improve the living and working environment of their communities and increase their potential to support increased economic activity into the future. To this end the scheme will, among other things, seek to increase the attractiveness and sustainability of our towns and villages as places to live and work. It will build upon other programmes the Government will be supporting in the years to come, such as my Department’s LEADER Programme, which will also see some €250m invested in rural Ireland.”