Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The CLÁR programme provides funding for small-scale projects in designated rural areas that have experienced significant levels of depopulation over a defined period. Since the programme was relaunched in 2016, it has supported a wide range of measures.

The CLÁR 2022 programme was launched in February this year and I am delighted to say that the overall amount awarded under all measures of the 2022 programme was a record €12.2 million with 292 projects being supported. A review of CLÁR areas nationally was undertaken in 2021 using the 2016 census of population data. The review examined the most recent changes in population patterns throughout the country on the basis of the 2016 data. It also examined the approach to developing the existing CLÁR designations, which is based on 2002 data, and considered how changes in population since then impacted on designations.

It is clear from the review that many areas have seen population growth in the relevant period rather than decline and, indeed, the most recent census data published by the Central Statistics Office point to population growth across all counties since 2016. The details of the review are being considered by my Department before any decisions are made on areas that are designated as eligible for CLÁR.

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