Farm groups give cautious welcome to rural development plan

The Government's White Paper on rural development was given a cautious welcome by farm and rural groups yesterday.

Mr Dermot Leavy, chairman of the IFA Rural Development Committee, said it was important that the paper was published in advance of the National Development Plan.

He said the real commitment of the Government to the "aspirations" in the White Paper "can only be judged when we see the financial allocation to all the dimensions of rural development in the national plan".

He particularly welcomed the designation of the Department of Agriculture as the lead Department, the commitment to "rural-proofing" of all policies and the preparation of a national strategy to ensure balanced regional development.

Other aspects he welcomed were the commitment to tackle social exclusion and the problems of smallholders, and the question of access by rural communities to public services.

Referring to the agricultural development aspect of the White Paper, Mr Leavy said: "Many of the key policies in place are those supported by the EU, such as on-farm investment, REPS, the young farmer installation scheme and early retirement scheme". The EU allocation would, he said, be severely limited with a substantial amount of money coming from the Exchequer.

He was also pleased with the commitment to a comprehensive programme for the development of the food industry.

Mr Jim Quigley, president of Muintir na Tire, also welcomed the publication of the paper, as did Ms Una Ni Chuinn, on behalf of Irish Rural Link (IRL).

Mr Quigley said the document was a milestone in planning and development.

Muintir na Tire also welcomed the establishment of a lead Department to focus Government policy; the commitment to rural-proofing; the establishment of the Cabinet sub-committee and the commitment in the paper to retain the post office network.

"Muintir na Tire is particularly pleased that the Government has adopted our approach to community development: encouraging, supporting and empowering active rural communities to plan and contribute to the development of their own areas and so maintain the quality of life and sense of community which make rural communities attractive places to live and work."

Ms Ni Chuinn said that "the detail of the commitment will be in the National Development Plan. That will allocate money towards infrastructure and to education, and we will be interested to see it."

IRL is also concerned to ensure that the rural-proofing is applied to the negotiations between the Government and the social partners on the replacement for Partnership 2000.

Mr Frank Allen of the ICMSA said he supported the paper's principle "that rural development and the wellbeing of the rural community is a public good". He said he hoped the principle would be implemented rather than just talked about.