Rural Ireland plan ‘a well-packaged marketing exercise’

An Taoiseach Micheál Martin, An Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, and Minister for Transport and the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan at the launch of  'Our Rural Future – Rural Development Policy 2021-2025' at Croke Park yesterday. Picture: Julien Behal

The Government's new rural Ireland plan has been dubbed a "very well packaged marketing exercise" after it was claimed it contains no new spending, targets or ideas.

The 'Our Rural Future' development policy contains 150 actions to encourage people to live and work in rural Ireland. However, the Taoiseach admitted that the plan is a "broad strategic framework", and costings and timeframes for many of the measures have yet to be worked out.

Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys said the Government has not set any targets around job creation or the number of people it expects to relocate as part of the plan.

Meanwhile just 1,000 homes have so far received high-speed internet connection under the National Broadband Plan (NBP), which is seen as a key driver in luring people live in rural areas.

Just 12% of the 550,000 homes promised high-speed internet access under the NBP will be connected by the end of the year.

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan conceded that the rollout of rural broadband is "taking time" with "only a small number" of homes connected to date.

I expect by the end of the year, it will be something like 70,000 houses will be first connected.

Mr Ryan plans to write to the NBP team in a bid to accelerate the rollout from a seven year programme to five years.

The policy document includes plans to introduce relocation grants for those who move to rural areas; to have 20% of the public sector working remotely by the end of the year; and to improve public transport to connect regional towns and villages.

Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys said the Government has not set any targets around job creation or the number of people it expects to relocate as part of the plan. Picture: Julien Behal

The plan also commits to provide 400 remote working hubs across the country. However, Ms Humphreys said there is no target date for the construction of these hubs.

She added that in the context of the pandemic it would be "unwise at this time" to provide detailed targets on job creation in the regions.

'Lack of detail'

Sinn Féin's agriculture spokesperson Matt Carthy described the strategy as "a big launch with little vision".

"The lack of detail was astounding and there was virtually no new spending, no new targets and no new ideas for rural communities," he said.

Labour's Seán Sherlock said the document is "eerily familiar" to the Action Plan for Rural Development that was launched four years ago.

"This is a very well packaged marketing exercise that bundles together proposals that were already planned such as the right to remote working, or the €1bn Rural Regeneration and Development Fund," he said.

Social Democrat TD Holly Cairns said the proposals must be followed up with immediate Government action to help stem the further decline of communities.

Irish Rural Link chief executive Seamus Boland said "critical" funding for Enterprise Ireland and the IDA to support rural start-ups is missing from the plan.

“The IDA and Enterprise Ireland need to be in a position that they can offer attractive packages to support people to establish start-ups or to bring in foreign direct investment to rural areas,” Mr Boland said.

There were no numbers given for the investment strategy, for supports and grants to establish jobs and businesses. That’s the bit that isn’t there.

Public service union Forsa, welcomed the plan but called for engagement on the development of agreed and comprehensive guidelines on the implementation and management of remote working in the public sector.