A pilot initiative aimed at addressing isolation in farming and rural communities is due to be launched this year.

The project, co-funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), will explore locally based innovative approaches to addressing rural isolation.

The initiative will have a particular focus on farmers, strengthening social connections and enhancing wellbeing in rural areas.

It is among the 240 commitments contained in the new Our Rural Future 2026-2031 policy launched by government today (Tuesday, October 27).

The policy sets out 34 high-level commitments, based around five 'strategic pillars', which the government said will "support the continued development of rural Ireland".

It brings together commitments from across government departments "to ensure that rural communities have the infrastructure, services and supports they need to prosper".

The policy is accompanied by an action plan setting out the measures to be delivered by departments and agencies over the first half of the policy period.

It is understood that further actions will then be developed over the period to 2031.

Rural

Among the actions earmarked for DAFM is to safeguard the interests of rural communities is to "develop and implement an effective Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), post-2027".

This includes advocating for a "strong, well-funded" CAP that "continues to prioritise a strong LEADER Programme".

The department is also tasked with introducing a National Framework for Carbon Farming "to guide the development of a Carbon Farming Scheme to strengthen farm incomes" by the end of this year.

The policy said DAFM should promote the production and uptake of renewable energy on farms, including biomethane and solar energy.

It outlines how 25 key actions already identified should be implemented to underpin the development of "an indigenous biomethane industry of scale".

The policy calls for progress on the recommendations contained in the Commission on Generational Renewal in Farming report, along with implementing the actions in the Women in Agriculture Action Plan.

While another commitment is to deliver more farm safety and health and wellbeing initiatives for farmers.

Policy

The new policy also commits to develop and launch a new Strategic Rural Investment Fund to help develop sites and infrastructure to "support enterprise and employment creation".

Other actions include the completion of the National Broadband Plan by the end of next year, along with the expansion of local link bus services.

The government said the new policy had been informed by "extensive consultation and engagement with rural communities and stakeholders".

A series of regional events on the plan are planned for the coming months which will also provide information to rural communities on the funding opportunities and supports available.

Speaking at the launch of the new policy, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: "Rural Ireland is central to our national identity and to the future of our country".

"It reflects our commitment to balanced regional development and recognises that realising our ambition for rural Ireland requires a coordinated, whole-of-government approach, with rural communities at the heart of decision-making," he added.

Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary said the new plan builds on the achievements of the initial policy launched in 2021.

"Alongside strengthening existing supports, we are introducing new measures that will help communities respond to changing needs, strengthen local economies and services, and make the most of advances in digital connectivity," he said.