Rural development programme gets €7m boost

Over €7m will be spent to radically change the future roll-out of a development programme for rural areas across the country, it emerged today.

Eamon O’Cuiv, the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, said the money was being provided to bring about greater cohesion in delivery of the Local Development Social Inclusion Programme (LDSIP) and Rural Development programmes after 2006.

At the National Ploughing Championships in Mogeely, Co Cork where over 150,000 people are expected to attend, Mr O’Cuiv said until now there had been parts of the country not covered by the development partnerships.

As he launched the report ’Rural Development 2007-2013 – The Way Forward’, Mr O’Cuiv said it was time to take a serious look at rural policy.

Mr O’Cuiv said in 10 years time there would only be 105,000 farmers in Ireland and 40,000 of those would be full-time.

“The big challenge and the big aim is to maintain rural population, to maintain rural society, and of course the way to do that is to diversify,” he said.

The LDSIP programme funds the partnerships and community groups, which are administered by the Area Development Management (ADM).

Mr O’Cuiv said as part of the change which will take place on a gradual basis over the next year and a half, it was intended that in both urban and rural areas the partnerships and community groups would cover all parts.

The partnership programmes and the rural development programmes, which will have increased importance due to the recent European Agriculture and Rural Development negotiations, will be delivered by unified structures in rural areas.

The programmes will be delivered where suitable along county boundaries, and in cities through electoral areas.

Mr O’Cuiv said the major advantages of the new approach were that the state would be able to deliver the programmes such as the Rural Social Scheme through the new structures as they would have all-area cover.

The new unified structures were also designed to lead to a more cohesive approach to tackling the problems of disadvantage through social and economic programmes.