Almost €50,000 in CLÁR funding for Offaly

Almost €50,000 is to be allocated to two projects in Offaly which are set to benefit in funding under the CLÁR Progamme, details of which were announced earlier today (Monday) by Minister for Rural Development, Heather Humphreys.

Shannonbridge Community Services Group are to receive €11,025 for the provision of wheelchair accessible picnic benches, new planter boxes with flowers and shrubs, canopies, bins and a ‘poop a scoop’ dog dispenser under the Scheme.

Meanwhile, St. Kieran’s National School in Broughal is set to receive €36,000 which will be used to provide safer roadside parking and also a footpath to the school.

Since the CLÁR Programme was re-introduced in 2016, it has provided funding of over €38 million to over 1,600 projects in rural communities under various measures.

Today’s announcement sees 104 projects across the country benefitting from over €4.2 million in funding.

The Offaly funding has been warmly welcomed by local Green Party Minister, Pippa Hackett, who said recreation is “vital to our health and wellbeing, so news of this funding for outdoor amenities in rural Ireland, is very welcome.”

The Minister also expressed her delight at the news that two projects in Offaly are set to benefit from funding.

In announcing the CLÁR funding, Minister Heather Humphreys said it puts “young people at the fore” by investing in “our schools, playgrounds, outdoor amenities and other projects – we are demonstrating the value and appreciation we have for the leaders of the future.”

The Minister added that “if the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that our young people are our shining lights, investing in them is an investment in our future” and she described the CLÁR funding as “a game changer for rural Ireland.”

Further announcements under the CLAR Programme are expected from the Department of Rural and Community Development in the coming weeks.

CLÁR is a targeted investment programme for rural areas which forms part of the Government's five year policy for rural Ireland called "Our Rural Future. " It aims to provide funding for small infrastructural projects in areas that have experienced significant depopulation over a defined period. There are designated CLÁR areas in all counties with the exception of Dublin, Kildare and Wexford