€157,350 for West Waterford projects under the CLÁR Programme
Green Party TD for Waterford Marc Ó Cathasaigh has welcomed the announcement of €157,350 for West Waterford projects under the CLÁR Programme which he says will “help revitalise our communities and make them even better places to live and work”. The funding, under the 2023 CLÁR Programme, is part of a broader package of over €6 million which was announced by the Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys TD to support the delivery of 152 projects throughout the country including astroturf pitches, playgrounds, sensory gardens, walking tracks nature trails, outdoor performance spaces and community cafés. Five key projects in West Waterford will receive funding in Rathgormack, Ballysaggart, Tallow, Cappoquin and Modeligo.
Welcoming the announcement, Deputy Ó Cathasaigh said: “The aim of this funding is to support community groups and across the country in the development and enhancement of their facilities which leads to benefits to people of all ages within the area. It will help revitalise our communities and make them even better places to live and work. I’ve worked closely with my Green Party colleague Minister Joe O’Brien in the Department of Rural and Community Development to deliver this funding for West Waterford ”
“We can see that relatively small works can make a huge difference to community buildings and the people who use them. Simple things like replacing the heating system or upgrading windows can bring life back into a building and bring opportunities to the community and local organisations in the area.”
“We’ve seen our smaller towns and villages hollowed out over the last 20 years but this government has been serious about revitalising our rural towns and villages through the Our Rural Future strategy and we are now seeing the results of this – particularly in our more rural towns and villages”
“The Waterford projects funded are Rathgormack Community Centre for the replacement of windows and the installation of insulation; Modeligo Community Centre for the replacement of windows and Cappoquin Community Centre will receive an upgraded heating system. We’ll see the renovation of an existing school house in Ballysaggart and a new walkway in Tallow”. “I’d like to thank and commend the communities involved in these projects for their vision for their communities and their work in getting the projects to this stage”
The funding under CLÁR is being provided as part of Our Rural Future, the Government’s strategic five-year plan to revitalise our rural towns and villages nationwide.
Today’s announcement builds on the €4.7 million announced in December 2023 under Measure 1 of the CLÁR programme to support 113 sports infrastructure projects and €2 million for 37 projects which was announced for Measure 2 of the CLÁR programme. This brings the total investment to €13 million in support of 302 projects in CLÁR areas nationwide in 2023.
Since the CLÁR programme was reintroduced in 2016, funding of over €70 million has been approved for almost 2,400 projects.
The full list of successful projects announced today under Measure 1 – Community and Measure 3 are available here: gov.ie – CLÁR 2023 Funding Approvals (www.gov.ie)
