Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the additional €5 million for 2017. The critical aspect of this funding is that it makes rural Ireland an attractive place to live. It provides key infrastructure into areas where there has been a deficit. In my constituency, County Westmeath received an allocation of €214,000 last year while County Longford received €237,000 for key infrastructure projects. I must compliment the Minister of State, Deputy Ring, on the way the funding was distributed in a fair and balanced manner. During his term of presiding over sports capital grants, there were never any issues around transparency or the way money was allocated. It is great to see small towns and villages benefitting from this funding. Under A Programme for a Partnership Government we need to emphasise the importance of rural Ireland and areas that have been neglected due to the very harsh recession. People have given up so much and sacrificed so much - as the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, has said - and this programme breathes life back into those areas and ensures we are now delivering from our strong economy to improve our society and to bring compassion back into these areas. It is very important.

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