Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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Question 252: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if there is funding from him for a community to secure the boundary wall of an old cemetery which is not in the charge of the county council. [14358/11]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2007-2013 has funding of €427 million available to be allocated to qualifying projects up to the end of 2013. The main objectives of the RDP are to improve the quality of life in rural areas and facilitate the diversification of the rural economy. As part of the suite of measures available under the RDP to achieve these aims the Conservation and Upgrading of the Rural Heritage measure provides funding for initiatives that support conservation actions including conservation and protection actions for the natural, cultural, social and vernacular heritage. Any initiatives considered under this measure should support the maintenance, restoration and upgrading of the cultural heritage such as the cultural features of a village or the rural landscape. In this context, there is a possibility that the restoration of an unused graveyard for conservation purposes may be eligible under the RDP.

There are 36 Local Action Groups contracted, on my Department's behalf, to deliver the RDP throughout the country and these groups are the principal decision-makers in relation to the allocation of project funding. Such decisions are made in the context of the local development strategy of the individual groups and in line with Departmental operating rules and EU regulations. Contact details for these groups can be found on the website of the National Rural Network at www.nrn.ie.