Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I completely agree with the Deputy on the importance of this funding for play areas and that more are developed to offer the opportunity consistently for refurbishment and development. This is the purpose of the funding.

The Deputy referred to only three playgrounds with regard to Tipperary. In 2019, our investment went from €250,000 in 2018 to €450,000, which is a significant increase. It is important to note again that the current criterion is that we offer €30,000 per local authority. It is within this that decisions are made. It is also critical that rather than asking for 50% matching funding, it is now 25% matching funding from the local authorities. All of that is moving in the right direction in supporting local authorities, including in County Tipperary, for more investment in this kind of work.

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