Written answers
Thursday, 7 July 2016
Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
Rural Development Programme Funding
Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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185. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the amount of money spent on Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas projects, by county, in each year from 2014 to 2016 to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20289/16]
Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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202. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to provide a breakdown of all Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas programme funding in 2015; the allocation for 2016 and the expenditure in 2016 to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20228/16]
Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 185 and 202 together.
Initiatives that have emerged from the work of the Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas (CEDRA) include the Rural Economic Development Zones (REDZ) pilot initiative in 2015, the forthcoming Town and Village Renewal Scheme and further smaller schemes administered by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
The following table details the funding per county allocated under the REDZ pilot initiative in 2015, which addressed one of the CEDRA recommendations. There has been no expenditure in 2014 or to date in 2016.
| County | 2015 |
|---|---|
| Carlow | €50,000 |
| Clare | €184,500 |
| Cork | €119,000 |
| Donegal | €250,000 |
| Galway | €207,500 |
| Kerry | €217,600 |
| Kildare | €112,000 |
| Kilkenny | €142,500 |
| Laois | €50,000 |
| Leitrim* | €250,379 |
| Limerick | €192,000 |
| Longford | €150,000 |
| Louth | €300,000 |
| Mayo | €225,000 |
| Meath | €75,000 |
| Monaghan | €75,000 |
| Offaly | €172,500 |
| Roscommon | €75,000 |
| Sligo | €150,000 |
| Tipperary | €375,000 |
| Waterford | €209,688 |
| Westmeath | €125,000 |
| Wexford/Carlow | €50,000 |
| Wicklow | €56,000 |
| TOTAL | €3,813,667 |
* Figure includes a cross-county project (Leitrim, Roscommon, Longford & Cavan)
Due to the success of the Rural Economic Development Zones (REDZ) pilot scheme in 2015, I will shortly announce details of a follow-up REDZ scheme to facilitate the initiation of new REDZ projects. The REDZ funding will focus on initiatives that will create and develop an environment that supports economic development in the relevant areas.
The Town and Village Renewal Scheme, which I will also launch shortly, has an allocation of €5 million for 2016. €4 million will be disbursed directly through the scheme, with the remaining €1 million allocated for disbursement by the Western Development Commission. Details in this regard will be finalised shortly.
There were also a number of smaller schemes administered by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine that were allocated €1 million in 2015, including a North/South Social Farming initiative (SoFAB) a local artisan food markets initiative and an initiative to support rural female entrepreneurs called ACORN.
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