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Departmental Programmes.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 3 June 2004

Thursday, 3 June 2004

Questions (74, 75, 76, 77, 78)

Brendan Howlin

Question:

66 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the position with regard to the amount of money available to the Government for the CLÁR programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16788/04]

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Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

201 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the steps he has taken to address the issues of rural depopulation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17064/04]

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Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

202 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the status of the CLÁR programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17065/04]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 66, 201 and 202 together.

I introduced the CLÁR programme in October 2001 to address depopulation as well as the decline and lack of services in rural areas. An Agreed Programme for Government contained a commitment to annual funding for the CLÁR programme and to consider additional areas for inclusion in light of the 2002 population census data. The Government decided on the additional areas for inclusion in the CLÁR programme and I announced these on 17 January 2003. Areas in 18 counties are now included in the programme and there are no plans for any further review of the boundary of CLÁR areas.

CLÁR funds, or co-funds, with other Departments, State agencies and local authorities, investment in selected priority developments. These investments are not made on the basis of plans as referred to by the Deputy, but through a series of measures, over 20 in all, that support physical, economic and social infrastructure such as electricity conversion, roads, water and sewerage, village, housing and schools enhancement, health, broadband and sports and community projects. The measures reflect the priorities identified by the communities in the selected areas whom I consulted at the start of the programme. The projects under each measure are generally selected or recommended by the relevant Departments, State agencies, Leader groups and local authorities in consultation with my Department.

All the 18 CLÁR regions are benefiting under a variety of these measures. It is not possible to detail these here, but I will send the information to the Deputy shortly. The measures were agreed with and are, for the most part, operated in tandem with the lead Departments, State agencies or public utilities, as appropriate. This ensures efficiency and effectiveness and meets the needs of the people in the CLÁR areas. I intend to continue this practice for any new measures I may introduce, depending on needs identified. Equally, I will keep under review the operation of existing measures.

The merits of this practice are reflected in the successful delivery of the programme. Expenditure amounted to €14.14 million in 2002 and to €8.613 million in 2003 which, it is estimated, secured a further €21 million in related public and private expenditure in those two years into the areas which otherwise would have been bottom of the list for infrastructure investment. The provision in the Estimates for 2004 is €13.49 million, a 57% increase on the 2003 outturn, which will enable the continuation of investment under existing measures of the programme and provide scope for the introduction of such new measures as may be identified during the year. With the ongoing co-operation of other Departments, State agencies and public utilities, CLÁR will continue to deliver on the commitment of supporting rural communities.

My Department's responsibilities also include the rural development aspects of the joint cross-Border programmes, PEACE, INTERREG Ireland-Northern Ireland and INTERREG Ireland-Wales along with the farm relief services measure of the national development plan. The rural development measures under these programmes aim to foster the economic and social development of rural communities, contribute to the economic growth of rural areas and strengthen the options available to rural communities to live and work in such areas. A total of €43 million is available for rural development activities under these programmes in the period 2000-2006.

Question No. 67 answered with QuestionNo. 64.

Paul Nicholas Gogarty

Question:

68 Mr. Gogarty asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the number of funding announcements he has made since 1 April 2004. [16833/04]

View answer

Between 1 April and 3 June 2004, 50 funding announcements were made. Full details can be accessed at the website www.pobail.ie.

Bernard Allen

Question:

69 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the future work plans and policy objectives of the interdepartmental committee for the islands, the Gaeltacht and the Irish language. [16653/04]

View answer

The interdepartmental committee in question has played an important role in the co-ordination of the provision of State services in the Gaeltacht and to island communities. This work has been carried out mainly through a series of bilateral meetings. As a result, a number of improvements have been made to relevant schemes operated by other Departments. It is my intention to continue to pursue specific issues of importance to Gaeltacht and island communities, as well as matters concerning the Irish language, through this forum as the need arises, in particular on a bilateral basis with the Ministers and Departments concerned.

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