Investment in rural Ireland will be decimated under plans

INVESTMENT in rural Ireland will be decimated under spending plans announced by the Government.

A cocktail of the end of European Union supports, a closure of farm improvement packages and prioritisation of urban infrastructure, will see the budget earmarked for rural areas reduced significantly.

In agricultural development, capital spending will go from €274 million this year to €40m a year every year from 2012 to 2016.