Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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393. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the amount spent on the rural recreation scheme in 2016; the amount of funding allocated by county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23985/17]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Rural Recreation Infrastructure Scheme provides funding for the development of outdoor recreational infrastructure and for the necessary maintenance, enhancement or promotion of existing outdoor recreational infrastructure in rural areas across Ireland.In 2016, funding of €7.4 million was approved for 117 projects in rural parts of Ireland and was distributed through Local Authorities, Local Development Companies and State Agencies. Table 1 provides details of the amounts approved under the scheme in 2016 on a county basis.

On 28th April this year, I announced details of €11 million in funding for the 2017 Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure scheme as part of the Government’s Action Plan for Rural Development. Funding will be available for a range of initiatives, from small scale local projects to large-scale strategic projects. Successful applicants will be announced by the end of June and projects will be expected to commence shortly thereafter.

Table 1 – Rural Recreation Scheme approvals, 2016