Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is very disappointing about the local improvement scheme. It is a wonderful scheme, which the Minister reopened some years ago for which he is due huge credit. Local authorities who have not pulled their weight in this regard should be named and shamed. I, and the committee, want to know what local authorities are performing well in this and which have spent their allocations. It is just not good enough that the Minister and his Department would allocate €10 million to upgrade minor roads in rural Ireland but that local authorities have not managed to spend the money. Those local authorities that have performed well should be rewarded for that. That is something the Minster could consider in future.

Programme A pertains to rural development and regional affairs. It is the Department's biggest spending element. The establishment of the rural regeneration and development fund was a game changer for rural Ireland. It gives those communities a chance to get big money. I am thinking in this regard of Lahinch, County Clare, which received €2.86 million last year in the second round of funding. A significant amount of that work was completed prior to the hosting of the Irish Open in Lahinch. It was a wonderful showcase for north Clare, for County Clare as a whole and for the mid-west. It is a testament to that particular fund and shows how the funding can be used for the benefit of the whole community. I am looking forward to work being completed on Lahinch Seaworld as part of the application. Going back over to east Clare, to Lough Derg and Holy Island €920,000 was allocated to that programme under the rural regeneration fund. Much work is ongoing there. Holy Island will complement the blueway that has been developed along Lough Derg and will act as a magnet to bring visitors from County Clare back over to east Clare. That fund is hugely significant. County Clare benefited from a €1 million injection to the digital hub in Ennistymon. I understand that project is nearing completion and I look forward to it opening in the near future. Perhaps the Minister will come to Ennistymon and perform the duty himself. It was one of the first projects to benefit under the rural regeneration and development fund.

I compliment Leonard Cleary in Clare County Council, Urban McMahon, and Pat Dowling, the chief executive, who have driven this particular project. The LEADER programme is well established in County Clare and is to the forefront. I wish to compliment Doirín Graham, Gloria Callinan and all the LEADER team there.

I note the Minister has reallocated €10 million to LEADER, which is welcome. In County Clare, money is running out and several projects that still are in the pipeline might benefit from an injection of money. The Minister will top up LEADER companies that have performed well, which is the correct approach. Consider the job that is under way in the Tradaree Arms in the main street in Newmarket on Fergus, where €1.2 million is going into the redevelopment of that building to provide a training area for chefs, a food hub, a meals-on-wheels operation, as well as a place for the youth of the village. This wonderful project, in the middle of the street, is made possible by LEADER funding, by Obair and by the local community. I look forward to that project nearing completion. That is the significance of LEADER.

Kilmihil, County Clare, was recently awarded €200,000 to develop an AstroTurf ground in the village. This is a wonderful community organisation. It is the first time they have been in receipt of major moneys from the State. It is another case of LEADER delivering on the ground.

I am involved in my local Tidy Towns organisation in Clarecastle. This year our points increased significantly, by 13. A meeting held in Power's pub was a celebration because of the community effort across Clarecastle from the young and not so young. The Tidy Towns competition is the best example of community development, pride in community and of improving public space. I encourage the Minister to support the Tidy Towns movement and the competition to an even greater degree in future years.

We touched on the local improvement scheme. I also compliment the Western Development Commission on the work it is doing. The Minister might come back to me on the issues I have raised.