Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 245: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs his plans to broaden eligibility for assistance under the CLÁR and RAPID programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47709/09]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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The areas covered by the CLÁR Programme were reviewed in 2006 and I have no plans to expand its coverage at present. The Renewed Programme for Government has identified the need to continue to invest in disadvantaged rural communities through CLÁR, and it will do this by focussing on priority local needs in targeted CLÁR areas. The Programme has constantly sought to address the new challenges faced by small rural communities and it has been continuously refocused to deal with the most urgent infrastructural deficits. This approach will continue to inform my delivery of the CLÁR Programme.

Following an independent evaluation of the RAPID programme in 2006, it was recommended that in order to further develop and enhance it, it should be focussed on seven Strategic Themes: Community Safety and Anti-Social Behaviour, Family Support, Youth Support, Physical Environment, Education, Health and Employment/Training. This recommendation has been pursued and the strategic themes have been established across RAPID areas. Separately, in order to ensure the continued relevance of the Programme and the designated RAPID areas, I commissioned, through POBAL, a study to develop/update small area deprivation indices based on an analysis of the most recent census data.

As a result of this work, five provincial towns have been designated as new RAPID areas (Ballina, Dungarvan, Enniscorthy, Mullingar and Rathkeale). Minor adjustments to the boundaries of a number of existing RAPID areas were also recommended and this work is ongoing. I hope to have the process completed early in 2010.