Peter Roche (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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673. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the measures being considered to ensure that rural and regional projects receive equitable access to capital funding under national investment and enterprise schemes; if his Department has conducted any review into geographic disparities in funding allocation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [64649/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Under the framework of the national rural development policy Our Rural Future and the National Planning Framework this Government continues to invest heavily in programmes which aim to revitalise our rural towns and villages, achieve balanced regional development and support development in local communities right across the country.

In line with this remit, the department operates the Rural Development Investment Programme to deliver a range of capital schemes which are available for communities all across rural Ireland for projects such as town regeneration works, the development of community and enterprise facilities and projects which provide outdoor recreation facilities.

This investment is channelled via a range of schemes such as the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, CLÁR, the LEADER programme, the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF), the Community Centre Investment Fund and the Outdoor Recreation and Investment Scheme. The scale of this investment, ranges from projects with a value of up to €65,000 under schemes such as CLÁR, to larger multi-million euro projects under schemes such as the RRDF.

The application process for funding can vary from scheme to scheme and applications are generally made via lead bodies such as local authorities or local development companies, each of whom draw on local consultation to identify priority projects for to form the basis for funding applications in their area. Funding is ultimately allocated based on a project's suitability against scheme criteria, the geographical spread of projects, the quality of the proposed projects, and the available budget.

Applications for departmental funding are accepted on an equitable basis across all counties, for example, by facilitating a consistent number of applications that can be made submitted by each local authority or local development company under each Call for Proposals. Significant effort is afforded both at local and national level to ensure a balanced allocation of funding.

This has seen very significant capital allocations across constituencies such as East Galway. For example, last month I approved €1m in funding under the RRDF to support the redevelopment of the Bridge House in Gort. Last year, €13m in RRDF funding was approved to support large capital projects in towns like Athenry, Tuam and Glenamaddy.

The CLÁR programme in particular is targeted at defined geographic areas based on data on population change to ensure those areas facing particular challenges, and which are our most remote rural areas, have access to tailored funding opportunities. As you may be aware, a review has been completed in recent months in respect of the areas eligible for CLÁR to ensure that it continues to target the most appropriate areas. The findings of this review will inform eligibility under the scheme in 2026.

Details of project allocations across the above schemes are available on my department's website.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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674. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the amount allocated in Budget 2026 for the financial support and establishment of new sister sheds, by county. [64668/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I believe that the emergence of Women's Sheds has been a very positive development for communities across Ireland and I am fully committed to supporting Women's Sheds in the valuable work they do.

My Department provides funding to Women’s (Sister) Sheds under various funding supports, including:

• The Local Enhancement Programme (LEP)
• The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) 2024 - 2028; and
• The LEADER programme.