Minister of State Joe McHugh has welcomed confirmation of €878,632 in funding for Donegal under the CLÁR programme.
The funding is the second highest amount in the country.
Minister McHugh said “My colleague Michael Ring, the Minister of State for Regional Economic Development, today announced the allocation of €8.24 million in funding for 651 projects under CLÁR 2016. Under the scheme Donegal will get €878,632 in funding, the second highest allocation in the country.
“CLÁR is an investment programme that aims to provide funding for small infrastructural projects in rural areas in
The aim of CLÁR is to support the sustainable development of areas that have experienced significant depopulation, by attracting people to live and work there.
In particular, this funding is focused on issues such as safety at schools and community centres and the development of amenities for young people in rural areas.
Minister McHugh added “I am confident that the funding provided through CLÁR will support communities here in Donegal as they look to ensure their children are safe and have recreational amenities available to them in their own communities.
“The funding will also ensure that communities are able to access the natural resources in their area for their own health and social benefit and to offer attractive options to visitors to the area. €1.35 million has been allocated to support the maintenance and development of Local Access Roads to beaches and waterways and other community amenities in order to facilitate the safe use of these resources.
“CLÁR is one of a number of schemes which will help to support rural communities in
“Funding has previously been provided to towns and villages across Donegal under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, the REDZ Programme and the Rural Recreation Scheme. All of these schemes work in a complementary way to ensure that all rural areas have strong economic and social centres.
“Fine Gael in Government is committed to ensuring that people living and working in rural Ireland feel the benefits as the economy continues to recover. I would like to commend Minister of State Michael Ring and Minister Heather Humphreys for the range of initiatives they have announced to date aimed at supporting rural communities.
“Minister Humphreys will be publishing the first ever Action Plan for Rural Development in the coming weeks, which will be a cross government approach to supporting rural communities and stimulating regional development.”
