Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

604. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the categories of funding available to local authorities through his Department; the amount of funding provided for each scheme in 2016 and 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43736/18]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The table shows the amount of funding provided for each of my Department's programmes/schemes in 2016 and 2017, where the funding is allocated to Local Authorities/Local Community Development Committees. 

In respect of Public Participation Networks(PPN) total funding of €1.55m per annum was available to local authorities in 2016 and 2017 from the Department to local authorities in respect of Public Participation Networks, an allocation of €50,000 was available to each local authority, provided this was matched by at least €30,000 from each local authority. This funding was to be used for the purposes of developing and maintaining a PPN, including the costs associated with the PPN Resource Worker.

The Town and Village Renewal Schemeis funded by this Department and administered by the Local Authorities (LA) in each area. Towns and Villages can apply through their LA for funding under the scheme to support the rejuvenation of the town/village. The Town and Village Renewal Scheme was launched in the second half of 2016 with a budget of €10million.  A total of 170 projects were approved under the scheme in 2016. 

A further 281 projects were approved for a total of €21.6million under the 2017 scheme. The 2018 Town and Village announcement brings the number of projects approved under the scheme since 2016 to more than 670 with an allocation of €21.3m.

CLÁR 2017

CLÁR provides funding for small scale infrastructural projects in disadvantaged rural areas that have experienced significant levels of de-population.

Measures 1 and 2 of the 2017 programme were applied for through the Local Authorities:

- Measure 1: Support for Schools/Community Safety Measures

- Measure 2: Play Areas

CLÁR 2016

The following measures were funded through the Local Authorities under the programme in 2016:

- Measure 1 Safety Measures for Schools and Community Sports Facilities

- Measure 2 Playgrounds and Multi-Use Games areas

- Measure 3 Local Access Roads

Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme

The Outdoor Recreation Scheme is a scheme of funding to support development and necessary maintenance, enhancement or promotion of recreational infrastructure including the trail network throughout Ireland. Funding was made available for Greenways, Blueways and Equestrian Trails.

Under the 2017 scheme the following funding measures were available:

Measure 1: Small Scale Maintenance/Promotion and Marketing

- Measure 2: Medium Scale Repair/Upgrade and New Trail Development

- Measure 3: Large Scale Repair/Upgrade and New Strategy Trail Development

In 2017, funding to the value of €11.63 was provided for projects through the Local Authorities.

Rural Recreation Scheme 2016 funding totalling €4.13 Million was made available to Local Authorities under the Programme. The Scheme was renamed the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme in 2017.

The Local Improvement Scheme, or LIS,is a programme for improvement works on small private or non-public roads in predominantly rural areas. It was relaunched in 2017 after a gap of a number of years.A total of 23 Local Authorities benefitted from scheme to the value of €16,960,703.

Rural Economic Development Zones (REDZ) are functional, rather than administrative, geographic areas that reflect the spatial patterns of local economic activity and development. They are, in effect, sub-county zones within which most people live and work.  The central objective of the REDZ concept is to encourage development on a more collaborative and functional area basis using the synergies and interdependencies between rural towns and their outlying areas to generate local economic activity. The REDZ 2016scheme invited Local Authorities to submit suitable projects for consideration under the scheme.  Successful projects were awarded funding of up to 80% of the total project cost, with the balance of funding being met from local sources (Local Authority, private sector or community-based funding) with a minimum 5% cash contribution. 47 projects received funding of €6.142munder REDZ 2016.  The REDZ scheme did not run in 2017.