Our Rural Future, Ireland’s national rural development policy provides a blueprint for sustainable rural development over the period to 2025. The policy’s ambitious vision, which recognises the crucial role played by rural communities in Ireland’s national economic, social, environmental and cultural development, has the potential to have a transformational impact on the quality of life in rural areas.

The publication of Our Rural Future in March 2021 instigated a huge level of activity across Government, as implementation commenced on the measures contained in the policy. Details of the initial period of delivery, to the end of 2021, can be found in the 2021 Work Programme and First Progress Report. These documents outlined a total of 216 actions to be undertaken last year, with just under 80% of those marked for delivery by the end of that period completed. It is important that the momentum created by the policy’s launch and the level of implementation in 2021 be maintained, and this year’s Work Programme seeks to build on progress made to date through the inclusion of 318 new and continuing actions to be progressed and delivered across Government in 2022. This includes actions carried over and reported as delayed in the first Progress Report for Our Rural Future which was published earlier this year. These actions have been given revised deadlines for delivery in this Work Programme. This figure also includes 23 actions proposed under 10 new policy measures, adding to the 152 originally contained in Our Rural Future. This reflects continued efforts to meet the level of ambition in the policy and seeks to address the emerging challenges and opportunities facing rural communities. Further Progress Reports will provide updates on delivery of this Work Programme following the midpoint and the end of the year.