Galway Bay fm newsroom - Galway West TD Eamon O'Cuiv has been assured that a Government plan aimed at rejuvenating rural Ireland WILL unlock the potential of local parishes and communities.
The scheme unveiled last month has 270 action items and a 60 million euro national price tag.
However Fianna Fail Deputy O'Cuiv argues it's a plan for towns and villages exclusively, and doesn't encompass rural Ireland.
Speaking in the Dail, he argues the geography of rural Ireland is largely based on parishes, however the word 'parish' does not appear in the plan.
The Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs has defended the plan stating that supporting towns and villages is only one element of the overall objective.
Heather Humphreys stressed that far from damaging parishes, it will give them a new lease of life.
