Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the THRIVE programme, which was announced by our colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, earlier this month. It offers regional and rural towns an opportunity to refurbish historic buildings up to a value of €7 million. It is a great opportunity for a town such as Longford to regenerate Connolly Barracks. The local authority is already looking at submitting plans in that regard. Significant money has been spent on regeneration, active travel and other such initiatives but the centres of many of these towns have been hollowed out and we need to invest in them. This is a great opportunity and I hope the Government's full support will be behind Longford County Council as it finally seeks to come up with a plan for the Connolly Barracks campus in Longford.

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