Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I again acknowledge, because I have always been fair, that CLÁR is one of the better schemes we have in place. My biggest problem is that I wish I had more funding for it. I need that funding now, which is why I am conducting this review. When I reintroduced CLÁR after many years, I brought it back in a limited way. The Deputy is correct and as Deputy Neville also mentioned we need to be able to examine schemes. I do not know whether we will be able to buy the land the Deputy referred to, because when I worked on the sports capital programme people were only given funding for capital works and never for buying land. That should be looked at, because that is a small school in a small area that needs support and it can only get so much from local contributions.

Many other places in rural areas also need small bits of support. It is like the rural regeneration scheme we discussed earlier.

10 o’clock

That is for bigger projects that need support. The Deputy is correct to say there are small schemes and the CLÁR programme has been one of the best. We have not reviewed it for a long time but we will get an opportunity and I want it to be done before the review of the next CLÁR programme. I want to sit down with other Departments to look at how to do it.

I hope the Deputy and other rural colleagues support me in what I have to say next. We cannot allow other Departments to throw everything over to my Department. There is a bit of that happening at the moment and I want to be careful about it. Other Departments have an obligation to rural-proof projects but I have to ensure that Ministers do not see my Department as a soft touch that has to do everything. They have responsibilities too. They have their own programmes and schemes and they have their own money. I have to make them accountable as well.

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