The Department of Rural and Community Development is currently developing a new, whole-of-Government rural development policy for Ireland. This will follow on from the Action Plan for Rural Development which was published in January 2017 and reaches the end of its three-year timeframe in 2019.
The new rural policy will be forward-looking, with a 5-year timeframe, and will focus on strengthening our rural communities and economies.
It will take account of:
- Emerging economic, societal and international developments, including changing demographics within rural communities,
- The increasing focus on climate change adaptation, diversification in the agri-food sector,
- the next version of rural funding schemes (for example, CAP and LEADER ) ,
- New ways of working and the changing nature of jobs,
- and Brexit.
Public Consultation Survey
In order to develop the new policy, the Department has held a series of consultation events over the last number of months to obtain stakeholder views on the challenges and opportunities facing rural Ireland. Following on from these events, the Department is now inviting wider feedback, through an online survey, on the challenges and opportunities facing people living and working in for rural Ireland. The key themes that have emerged to date are reflected in the survey questions.
The Department is now hosting a Public Consultation Survey until Friday 11 October 2019.
We welcome inputs from anyone who wishes to contribute to the development of this new policy, particularly those living and working in rural Ireland, via this online survey. The survey is available here.
