Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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313. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the project approved under CLÁR measures in 2017, by county, in tabular form; the funding allocated for each such approved project; the total number of projects that were not approved by county; the reason they were refused; and if there is an appeal mechanism in place to appeal refusal decisions. [29618/17]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The 2017 CLÁR programme was launched on 31^stMarch last, with a closing date of 5^thMay. The programme provides funding for small scale infrastructural projects in disadvantaged rural areas that have experienced significant levels of depopulation. Funding for the 2017 CLÁR programme was available this year under four separate Measures:

Measure 1: Support for School and Community Safety Measures

Measure 2: Play Areas

Measure 3: Targeted Community Infrastructure

Measure 4: First Responder Supports

Over 500 applications were received across the four Measures to the value of €15 million. In recent weeks, 231 successful projects were announced, with a total of just under €7 million allocated across the four Measures.

The following table outlines the number of projects received, approved and unsuccessful for each county. The full list of approved projects including their funding allocation, by county, is available on my Department’s website at .

Funding to support projects under CLÁR this year was limited and it was not possible to fund all applications. In general, applications were assessed on the basis of their eligibility under the scheme criteria and on the quality of the documentation supporting their proposals, as required in the scheme guidelines. There is no appeals mechanism in place in relation to unsuccessful applications.

The CLÁR programme is an important part of the Government’s Action Plan for Rural Development, and makes a huge contribution to supporting the most depopulated areas in rural Ireland. Over 800 projects have now been approved for funding since the scheme was relaunched last year.

Table 1 - CLÁR 2017: Numbers of Projects by County