Public Consultation Events to Inform New Rural Policy for Ireland

Realising our Rural Potential, the Government's Action Plan for Rural Development was published in January 2017 and has been a key vehicle for implementation of the Government’s support for rural development over the last three years. 

The Department of Rural and Community Development is now developing a new rural policy for Ireland, to follow on from the Action Plan for Rural Development which reaches the end of its three-year lifecycle at the end of 2019. The new policy will reflect a whole-of-Government commitment to rural Ireland. It will be forward-looking, with a 5-year timeframe, and will focus on strengthening our rural communities and economies.

In order to develop the new policy, the Department of Rural and Community Development has held a series of consultation workshops over the last number of months to obtain stakeholder views on the challenges and opportunities facing rural Ireland. The Department is now holding two wider public consultation events to inform the next phase of rural development policy for Ireland. These workshops will seek to obtain the views of people living and working in rural Ireland on the challenges and opportunities facing them and their communities over the next five years, and actions required to help rural Ireland realise its full potential.

The events will take place in the:

• Hibernian Hotel, Mallow, Co. Cork, on Monday, 30 September from 7.00 - 8.30pm. 
• Heritage, Killenard, Co. Laois, on Tuesday, 1 October from 7.00 - 8.30pm.

We still have some places available for both events, if any of The Wheel’s member organisations are interested in attending we would value their input into the discussions.

Any interested individuals can register for the events via Eventbrite using the following link: https://www.eventbrite.ie/o/department-of-rural-and-community-development-20051109089