Written answers
Wednesday, 13 December 2023
Department of Rural and Community Development
Departmental Funding
Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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268. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development what funding allocations to County Kerry have been withdrawn by her Department since 2016; the reasons for any such withdrawals; the total percentage this amount represents of her Department’s allocations in respect of the county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55802/23]
Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Since my Department was established in 2017, County Kerry has been allocated approximately €84.65 million through schemes such as the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, the Leader Programme, the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme, the CLÁR Programme, the Town and Village Renewal Scheme and the Community Services Programme.
From time to time, due to various reasons, some funding allocations are withdrawn or de-committed. The total amount of funding allocated to County Kerry withdrawn or de-committed is approximately €1.47 million which represents 1.7% of the €84.65 million. Details of these projects are set out below. As detailed, the majority of such funding was de-committed by the local authority for reasons such as not being able to proceed with projects. The Department works closely with all local authorities and other delivery partners to maximise delivery for all agreed projects.
CLÁR
| Year | Reference | Project Name | Amount Paid | Amount Granted | Amount Withdrawn | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | C118KY02 | Rathmore Community Council | €0 | €49,500.00 | €49,500.00 | The Department de-committed this project due to extensive delays and changes to the project |
| 2018 | C119KY04 | Barraduff Tidy Village Committee | €0 | €24,750.00 | €24,750.00 | Local Authority notified the Department that the project was not proceeding |
| 2020 | C3A20KY06 | St Vincent de Paul Society Castleisland | €0 | €4,860.00 | €4,860.00 | The organisation notified the Department that the funding approved would not be spent. |
| 2021 | CIM21KY04 | Mid Kerry Tourism Cluster | €0 | €28,500.00 | €28,500.00 | The organisation notified the Department that they could no longer proceed with the project due to a restructure of the organisation |
Rural Regeneration and Development Fund
| Year | Call | Category | Project | Amount | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1 | 2 | Ceann Mara Net Factory | €275,000 | Funding was de-committed as site identified in the application could not be purchased. |
Town and Village Renewal Scheme
| Scheme Year | Project Reference | Town / Village | Grant Approved | Grant Paid | Amount De-committed | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | TV17KY15 | Rathmore | €100,000.00 | €50,000.00 | €50,000.00 | €50,000 de-committed for one element of the project which was funded through another source. |
| 2019 | TV19KY03 | Waterville | €200,000.00 | €0.00 | €200,000.00 | Funding de-committed as Kerry County Council notified the Department that the project was not progressing. |
| 2020 | TVAC20KY11 | Kerry Countywide Marketing Initiative | €40,000.00 | €0.00 | €40,000.00 | The project was not progressed within the allowed timeline therefore the funding was de-committed. |
| 2020 | TVAC20KY19 | Killarney | €40,000.00 | €0.00 | €40,000.00 | The project was not progressed within the allowed timeline therefore the funding was de-committed. |
| 2020 | TV20KY09 | Castleisland | €96,300.00 | €0.00 | €96,300.00 | Funding de-committed as Kerry County Council notified the Department that the project was not progressing. |
| 2020 | TV20KY10 | Milltown | €94,500.00 | €0.00 | €94,500.00 | Funding de-committed as Kerry County Council notified the Department that the project was not progressing. |
| 2023 | BAM23KY01 | Kenmare | €500,000.00 | €0.00 | €500,000.00 | Per the terms of the 2023 Building Acquisition Measure, funding had to be drawn down in 2023 and Kerry County Council could not complete the purchase in this timescale. |
Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Fund
| Scheme Year | Project Reference | Project Name | Grant Approved | Grant Paid | Amount Withdrawn | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | OR117KY07 | Doorus Nature Trail | €8,651.00 | €4,836.69 | €3,814.31 | Funding de-committed as Kerry County Council notified the Department that the project was not progressing. |
| 2017 | OR217KY02 | Milltown Heritage and Recreation Trail | €100,000.00 | €86,210.10 | €13,789.90 | Balance of funding de-committed due to change in scope of the project. |
Town Centre First: Town Centre First Plan Initiative
In December 2021, I announced €2.6 million in funding for 26 towns for the development of Town Centre First (TCF) Plans as part of the TCF policy. Milltown was selected as the town to complete the TCF plan for Kerry. Kerry County Council was awarded €100,000 in order to develop the plan. An advance payment of €75,000 was paid in December 2021, where the remaining €25,000 would be paid upon completion of the plan within the agreed timeframe.
The original end date was set at 30th June 2023. In the interests of giving the maximum opportunity for Kerry County Council to complete the plan to a high standard and based on the necessary consultation with the local community, the Department agreed to an exceptional extension to 17th November 2023. This date represented the latest possible date for the consideration of a claim in relation to the completion of the plan.
As Kerry County Council had not completed the plan within the agreed timeframe, the remaining €25,000 allocated to the project was formally de-committed. Notice of de-commitment of this funding was issued to Kerry County Council on 20th November 2023.
Community Services Programme
The Community Services Programme (CSP) supports over 420 community-based organisations, to provide local services through a social enterprise model. The CSP transferred to my Department in January 2018. Kerry Flyer CLG were in receipt of CSP funding of €174,747 up to 2018 supporting one manager and 7.5 full time equivalent positions. In March 2019, Kerry Flyer transferred the CSP supported service to Kerry Accessible Transport Services (KATS) CLG, that organisation then relinquished the CSP contract as it was no longer viable and voluntarily exited the CSP in June 2019. The CSP Programme is based on individual organisation contracts, rather than County allocations. The total allocation for organisations in County Kerry during 2019 was €1,760,892, the Kerry Flyer/KATS element accounted for almost 10% of this. It should be noted that the CSP allocation to organisations in County Kerry currently stands at €1.835 million, supporting 15 Community Organisations.
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