Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

As the Minister is aware, because he represents a rural county, like the two rural counties I have the privilege to represent, the CLÁR programme has been particularly important since it was first initiated by our former Oireachtas colleague, Éamon Ó Cuív. It has been particularly important for ensuring the provision of community facilities and for enhancing public facilities such as schools. I hope the Minister has a good allocation for the forthcoming year to continue the good work of recent years that was undertaken through CLÁR funding.

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