Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs

The Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs ( _ga. An Roinn Gnóthaí Pobail, Tuaithe agus Gaeltachta) is a department of the Government of Ireland. The mission of the department is to promote and support the sustainable and inclusive development of communities, both urban and rural, including Gaeltacht and island communities, thereby fostering better regional balance and alleviating disadvantage, and to advance the use of the Irish language. It is led by the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

Departmental Team

The official headquarters and Ministerial offices of the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs are in Dún Aimhirgin, Mespil Road, Dublin 4. The departmental team consists of the following:
*Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Éamon Ó Cuív, TD
**John Curran, TD – Minister of State for Drugs Strategy and Community Affairs.
**Conor Lenihan, TD – Minister of State for Integration Policy.
*Secretary General of the Department: Gerry Kearney

Overview

The department has specific responsibility for a range of functions including:
*Community Development Programmes
*Local Development
*the RAPID programmes
*Coordination of the National Drugs Strategy
*North/South co-operation
*Volunteering
*Rural Development initiatives
*the Irish language
*the Gaeltacht
*the development of Ireland's inhabited off-shore islands.

History

The department was created in 1956 as the Department of the Gaeltacht. Its present title dates from 6 June 2002 with the formation of the Government of the 29th Dáil.

Over the years its name has changed several times, however, the role of the department has remained the same. The department has been known as the following:

*Department of Gaeltacht (1956–1993)
*Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht (1993–1997)
*Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands (1997–2002)
*Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (2002–present)

External links

* [http://www.pobail.ie/en/ Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs]