709. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the current and capital allocation in 2024 and 2025 to the implementation of strategies (details supplied), in tabular form. [41249/24]

Our Rural Future is the Governments policy for rural development, with actions right across Government to support the rural economy and rural communities. Within my Department the policy is underpinned by funding for both the rural development programme and the community development programme, the latter of which supports projects and schemes in both rural and urban communities.

The Revised Estimate 2024 provides my Department with total gross funding of €431 million, with €205 million allocated for the rural development programme and €226 million for the community development programme. I am delighted to have secured a 9% increase in funding through Budget 2025, and the Department will have a gross allocation of €472 million for 2025. The funding will provide €212 million for rural development and €260 million for community development activities. This will continue to breathe new life into towns and villages and support the social and economic development of the rural and urban communities including the islands. It should be noted schemes such as the Community Centre Investment Fund, Libraries Development, the Community Services Programme and the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme, which are funded under the Community Development Programme, impact both rural and urban communities.

With regard to Our Living Islands, this is also a whole of Government policy, with my Department leading on the area. Specific funding of €15 million is available for the islands area in 2024, with €10 million in current funding and €5 million in capital funding. This aims to support connectivity through subsidised transport services and infrastructure development, along with allowing overall policy co-ordination to support and sustain communities on our islands. While the 2025 allocations are yet to be finalised, I envisage an additional €1 million in current funding to support transport services to the islands. Recently, I have also introduced island-specific measures under other funding schemes within my Department, such as CLÁR and Town and Village Renewal.

The exact funding allocations for 2025 will be published in the Revised Estimate Volume 2025, in December. Indicative details of how it is planned to utilise that funding are available here: www.gov.ie/en/press-release/ab0cf-budget-2025-ministers-humphreys-and-joe-obrien-deliver-472-million-for-rural-and-community-development/ . The funding allocations for my Department for 2024 and 2025, at programme level, are detailed in the tables below: