Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is always room to streamline and improve existing schemes and funds. I am satisfied with the amount of grants available, €1 million, for market towns in 2019. Towns which have benefitted are Kilrush, Letterkenny, Ballina, Navan, Boyle and Nenagh. In 2018, a further €1 million was given to market towns such as Youghal, Ballinrobe, Kells, Carrick-on-Suir, Portlaoise and Kilmallock, County Limerick.

Monaghan County Council had applied for funding for works to the Market House in Castleblayney and was granted €140,000. These works were to commence the process of stabilising the building. That application was later withdrawn, however, by the local authority because of its growing appreciation of further works which needed to be done and the likelihood, therefore, that the funding awarded would not have made a significant difference to the future of the building, which needs a much larger-scale intervention. There was a Commencement matter in the Seanad specifically on the Castleblayney project on 19 February 2019.

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