Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for the question. The CLÁR programme provides funding under a number of different measures for small-scale infrastructural projects in designated rural areas that have experienced significant levels of depopulation over a defined period. The level of funding provided for the programme in 2021 was €5.5 million and this was increased to €7 million under budget 2022. The CLÁR programme has invested heavily in playgrounds in recent years, and the focus for the programme this year will be on supporting investment in a wide range of community facilities and community infrastructure. The exact measures to be funded in 2022 are currently under review. I expect that the 2022 CLÁR programme will be launched shortly.

The community enhancement programme also provides grants for improving community facilities, with a particular focus on disadvantaged areas. Our Rural Future, the rural development policy, contains a number of measures focused on community safety in rural areas, including the introduction of a new policing, security and community safety Bill to redefine the functions of An Garda Síochána to include community safety. It was important that safety concerns of rural communities were recognised in the preparation of Our Rural Future and representatives of An Garda Síochána were present at a number of public consultation and engagement events that took place during the development of the policy. I also am aware that the Department of Justice administers a grant aid scheme for groups wishing to establish a community-based CCTV system in their area. Other measures being progressed by the Department of Justice in respect of community safety in rural areas include the establishment of local community safety partnership pilots in counties Waterford and Longford in 2021, a review of community-based alert schemes, and the development of a revised legislative framework to provide clarity to local authorities on how local CCTV schemes can be established, while enhancing community safety and data protection safeguards.

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