Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for her reply. As she stated, there are many communities in cities, towns and villages throughout Ireland that do not have a community centre or centralised location in which to gather and meet. I very much welcome the introduction of a new scheme that will enable communities across the country to build and refurbish community centres.

As I stated previously in the House, Newcastle in Galway city is an area with no community facilities. It is home to almost 6,000 residents. A committee got together under the chairmanship of Seamus Davey and raised more than €200,000. It acquired a site and secured planning permission for a much-needed centre for the area. It has the unanimous support of all public representatives. This is an excellent proposal to provide facilities for this area of Galway city. I hope the Newcastle project will be successful in its application to secure funding under the new scheme the Minister will be announcing shortly and opening in March.

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