Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this matter. The last allocation of CLÁR funding has been a serious disappointment in County Cork. I will go through the figures. Over €3.8 million was allocated nationwide. In Cork county, €115,000 was allocated. This represented only 3% of the total. In north Cork, which I represent, there was no funding at all. It went to a number of projects in west Cork. The Department, which had been in communication with the local authorities over recent years, set out that Cork county was entitled to have 15 priority projects under the CLÁR programme. The Department informed the local authority that if these were prioritised by it, they would be funded. Only three of them were funded. The funding applications made by Cork County Council, which examines each of the communities' priorities, prioritised traffic-calming in Knocknagree, alongside the school, for example. The Minister of State, Deputy Canney, would have to agree that the traffic-calming measures around schools have a positive effect. The local authority also prioritised projects in Kanturk, Lyre and Millstreet. The representatives on the ground were making great play about what they had done for those communities but none of the funding came through.

CLÁR funding is a vital component of projects. The locals put in so much money, and CLÁR and the local authorities provide other moneys. The CLÁR programme is vital in funding projects in rural communities, such as Knocknagree, Kanturk, Lyre and Millstreet. CLÁR funding has been of great benefit. Why was Cork county getting only 3% of the funding? As I stated, it received only €115,000 out of €3.8 million, which was the allocation nationwide. Why were the projects prioritised by the local authority in Cork not funded?

Cork county is at a great disadvantage in that its landmass is greater than six counties put together. Any of the six counties that would make up the landmass of County Cork would have far more projects funded. Cork county needs to be examined according to its three divisions, namely, the northern, southern and western divisions. There should be a number of projects funded per division under the CLÁR programme. Has the Department, in its wisdom, taken the populations into account? The northern division, which is predominantly the area I represent, has over 90,000 people. Some 150,000 live in the southern division. Smaller counties have similar populations. Cork County Council has three local community development companies, LCDCs. Funding should be allocated per LCDC.

Let me return to the fundamental point. Projects were prioritised by our local authority and it was led to believe they would be funded under the CLÁR programme. Why were they not funded under the CLÁR announcement made earlier in the year, which was worth €3.8 million nationwide? I will leave those questions with the Minister of State and come back to him with more points.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy for the question. The CLÁR programme provides funding for small infrastructural projects in rural areas that have suffered from significant population decline, based on CSO data. The programme was closed for new applications in 2010. However, the Minister, Deputy Ring, relaunched CLÁR in the second half of 2016 because he recognised the programme can make a great difference to people living in the relevant areas.

Since CLÁR was relaunched in 2016, almost €33 million has been allocated to over 1,400 projects under different CLÁR measures. The 2019 CLÁR programme invited applications under three separate measures: support for schools and community safety; play areas; and community well-being support.

There was great interest in the CLÁR programme this year, with almost 500 applications received. The funding sought in those applications far exceeded the available budget. Unfortunately, it was not possible to fund all the projects for which applications were submitted. Nonetheless, €6 million has been allocated for 179 projects under the 2019 CLÁR programme. This includes funding for eight projects in County Cork, to the value of almost €300,000.

A total of €1.89 million has been allocated to 74 projects in Cork since 2016 under CLÁR. The funding approved for any particular local authority under measures 1 and 2 of the 2019 programme, which are for schools and play areas, reflected the extent of the designated CLÁR areas in each county. It is not based on the overall geographical footprint or the population of the county. From a Galway perspective, I can understand some of the Deputy's frustration. In other words, counties that have a larger percentage of their geographic area in CLÁR received more funding than counties that had a small percentage in CLÁR. For example, Leitrim is a relatively small county but all of it is designated as a CLÁR area. The approach taken is only fair, given the specific targeted nature of the programme. Other counties perform well in regard to other programmes delivered by the Department.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for the reply. The entire Duhallow region of County Cork is within the CLÁR region. I refer to the classification of CLÁR. Not one project was funded in my region although there were four put forward by the local authority. West Cork is not in my constituency but it should be noted that large tracts of it are in the CLÁR region. A huge part of the landmass of County Cork is in the CLÁR region. Three projects were funded.

The Minister of State said that it is not possible, unfortunately, to fund all measures. Is there any more CLÁR funding to be announced in 2019? There is talk locally that there is more money to become available under the programme. From the Minister of State's initial statement, it looks like there will be no further funding. Does Minister of State accept my point that the Department, in its communication with the local authority, clearly indicated that if it applied in respect of 15 projects, it would be successful. The local authority worked very hard on these projects. It worked with the communities and a lot of time and effort was put in to make sure the projects would be right. Some projects were burnt in the 2018 application round. Did the Department give a commitment that if there were 15 projects submitted by the county council, they would be funded? Is further funding to be made available under the CLÁR programme in 2019? Does the Minister of State accept that Cork county should be treated differently because of its landmass? The Minister of State referred to the size of his county, County Galway. Much of the landmass of County Cork is in the CLÁR region. I am referring in particular to the Duhallow region, where not one of the four projects in respect of which an application was made received funding in the last round.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy for his contribution. I appreciate his interest in ensuring Cork county is supported by the Department of Rural and Community Development. Let me give the Deputy a breakdown of the CLÁR funding for Cork in 2019.

There were three measures: support for schools and community safety; play areas, including multi-use games areas; and community well-being supports comprising first response support, mobility and cancer care transport, and sensory gardens. A number of projects were funded this year to the value of €294,809. That amount was awarded to Galway County Council - mea culpa, but it was Cork County Council - for eight projects-----

Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I think the Minister of State has just said that it is all going up the west with nothing coming down to County Cork.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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No, it is not all up the west. Galway suffered the same way due to the nature of the divisions. Cork received funding of €780,000 in 2018 and, in 2017, €260,000 in respect of nine projects. It received €562,000 in respect of 35 projects in 2016. The amounts have fluctuated.

The Deputy asked whether there was a further round to come. I have no knowledge of further announcements. Expenditure within the Department across our important and targeted measures in respect of rural Ireland is being taken up. The CLÁR programme is making a significant impact throughout rural Ireland and a high level of demand is a measure of its success. I will continue to prioritise projects under CLÁR, but we need to do so within the existing budgetary constraints. Since CLÁR's reintroduction, Cork has not done too badly.

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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Except in the hurling.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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Sometimes, people feel like they are getting less than they are entitled to, but that happens with every item of funding. We are committed to reviewing the CLÁR programme by reference to the most recent census of population, which was in 2016. The review will consider whether other factors should be taken into account in designating areas of eligibility under CLÁR, for example, levels of deprivation.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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A community school safety application was turned down. I cannot understand why, given that the Minister of State mentioned that public safety was a priority.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Perhaps the Deputy will engage with the Minister of State on the matter.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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If there is a specific situation, we can look at it.