Opening of the Annual Conference for Irish Rural Link – ‘People & Community – The Forgotten Rural Agenda’

Address by Mr. Frank Fahey, T.D., Minister for Labour Affairs at the Opening of the Annual Conference for Irish Rural Link – ‘People & Community – The Forgotten Rural Agenda’ In the Shannon Oaks Hotel, Portumna, Galway On the 6^th May 2004

I am delighted to be here to officially open the annual conference of Irish Rural Link and I would like to thank Mr. Séamus Boland, director and the Board and staff of IRL for their kind invitation.

Irish Rural Link, since its foundation in 1991 by a number of rural community groups, has gone from strength to strength with a long list of achievements behind them. They have been providing a unified voice for community groups across the country. As a western man I am particularly pleased to have been asked to open the group’s annual conference ‘People & Community – The Forgotten Agenda’.

As Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, with special responsibility for Labour Affairs, I have a deep commitment to the development of rural Ireland. The Government’s commitment to developing and maintaining vibrant rural communities throughout Ireland can be seen in the many courageous steps that this Government has taken to ensure the success of the process. In 1999 we published the blueprint for rural development.

In 2002 the Government set up the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, with the aim of making more coherent and focused policies in the development of rural Ireland. The many programmes and schemes that are administered by this Department, and by my own Department including the funding provided by the County Enterprise Boards throughout the country and the Community training programmes administered by FAS, are a verification of the Government’s commitment to the development of our rural communities.

The Department of Environment and Local Government launched the Government’s Spatial Strategy in November 2002. The purpose of the National Spatial Strategy is to represent Government policy on strategic planning and development. It will inform and direct decision makers in relation to planning matters over the next twenty years, aiming to bring people, services and infrastructure together so that opportunities for investment are opened up across the country. The recent announcement of the decentralisation of approximately 10,000 civil and public servants is confirmation of the Government’s commitment to the progression of the communities of rural Ireland. The procedure is already underway, following the recent publication of the Flynn report, which will bring us forward to the next step of the decentralisation process.

With regard to rural Ireland, the Government and Irish Rural Link share the same priorities. The process of developing a sustainable rural Ireland needs the dedication and commitment that rural community groups around the country have, and an organisation like Irish Rural Link offers an invaluable service to these groups. It is paramount that these groups have a voice, both on a national and an international level. Irish Rural Link represents over 200 community groups.

These groups represent varying social strands in rural Ireland that seriously need a voice, such as the elderly, lone parent families, people with disabilities, people living alone and other socially isolated groups.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish the five Voluntary Regional Development Officers that were recently appointed by IRL the best of luck and every success in their very important and worthwhile work. I wish you all an enjoyable evening of celebration and I wish you every success for the future.

ENDS/LA77