The government launched a new report this week titled “Our rural future 2026-2031”. The report says it will ensure that rural communities have the infrastructure, services and supports they need to prosper.
While the report documents a number of areas for improvement, it lacks targets and the detail of how the specific problems will be addressed.
For many years, rural dwellers have felt they have been forgotten about, with hundreds of rural shops, post offices, garda stations and schools closing. We saw a Generational Renewal report in Agriculture published over 12 months ago with very little action since publication.
A fully-funded CAP will be one of the key determinants of rural Ireland’s direction in the next decade, and the government needs to do more to ensure that the current 24% cut in farm funding doesn’t come to fruition.