merrion street

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue T.D. together with Ministers of State, Senator Pippa Hackett and Minister Martin Heydon T.D., today welcomed the launch of ‘Our Rural Future – Rural Development Policy 2021 -2025’.

Minister McConalogue said, “This whole-of-Government approach to rural development highlights the importance of our rural and coastal communities.  Balanced economic development throughout the country, including the development of our rural and coastal communities, is necessary for the overall economic and social wellbeing of Ireland as a whole.”

The Minister added, “One of the key policy commitments identified is the preparation of a new Agri-Food Strategy to 2030, which is also a commitment under the Programme for Government, and will be published in the Summer. It will set a high ambition for the sector in the years ahead, focussing on sustainability in its three forms: environmental, economic and social. This will ensure that the agri-food sector, encompassing agriculture, seafood and forestry, will continue to be the foundation for rural and coastal development. l look forward to working with Minister Heather Humphreys, her Department, my own Department and the rest of Government in realising the vision outlined in the Rural Development Policy, and to progressing the specific actions relating to the agri-food sector.”

Minister Hackett acknowledged “the focus on the importance of  sustainable forestry in the Rural Development Policy.”

Minister Heydon welcomed “the initiative to support the safety, health and well-being of the farming community. Our rural communities have suffered so much in the past year - but what we have seen above all is an extraordinary sense of resilience and community. Our Rural Future is about looking forward, building on that community spirit and enabling it further with a concrete ambitious plan to reinvigorate rural Ireland, including the wellbeing of our farming community, in the years to come."