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

I acknowledge what all of the Deputies have said. As they know we have the community centres fund and that was a very successful fund. It was initially a fund of €15 million but the demand was so much that we increased that to more than €40 million in allocations. In fact the applications that came in for that particular fund were for more than €70 million. A lot of the applications were actually for energy efficiency projects, such as replacing the heat system in community halls. That gives an indication of the commitment out there and that communities know exactly what needs to be done. I was glad to see that come in and that work has all started now.

Through our Tidy Towns initiative there is a lot of focus on biodiversity as well. Also the broadband connection points, the BCPs, were mentioned and the broadband officers. I met them last week. They have done a huge amount of work in local authorities in fairness to them and I would like to say they have made things happen and have knocked down the barriers because sometimes there are investors coming in, there are people who want to set up businesses and there are barriers and they have managed to do a huge amount of work making sure that rural areas have the connectivity they need. In terms of the communities that are setting up, we have the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, funding to help new communities and to help social inclusion and again that support is available for those who want to set up. I absolutely agree and I continue to prioritise the importance of that engagement with people on the ground.

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