Investment in flood relief works to double in new €60m Rural Action Plan

A total of €50m is to be invested in collaborative approaches to job creation in the new Rural Action Plan. The overall objective of the Rural Action Plan announced on Monday is to support the creation of 135,000 jobs in rural Ireland, bringing high-speed broadband to every home and business and revitalising towns and villages through 4,000 projects.

The plan also commits to investing up to €80m per annum in flood relief measures by 2019, increasing to €100m per annum by 2021.

The action plan will cover a three-year period to 2020 and will benefit a wide range of stakeholders in rural Ireland, including farmers and fishing communities, rural businesses, job seekers, rural communities and families.

Full house here in Ballymahon Library for the launch of the Action Plan for Rural Development #ruralplan #ruralireland @DeptAHG pic.twitter.com/njFw86VqY5

— Heather Humphreys (@HHumphreysFG) January 23, 2017

The five key pillars of the plan are:

Within the plan, the Government commits to paying out €1.2bn per annum in direct payments to farmers under the Common Agriculture Policy. It also commits to €4bn under the 2014 to 2020 Rural Development Programme, including €250m under LEADER.

Up to €30m per annum will be invested in other rural development schemes such as town and village renewal, CLÁR and the rural recreation programme.

As an initial allocation, €275m has been set aside under the National Broadband Plan to bring high-speed broadband to every premises in the country. The plan also mentions additional investment in tourism assets such as greenways, blueways and national parks.

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