Joan Burton
Question:56 Ms Burton asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the position with regard to the CLÁR programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33266/04]
View answerTuesday, 14 December 2004
Questions (35, 36, 37)
Bernard J. Durkan
Question:85 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if he proposes to revitalise the CLÁR programme with particular reference to the extended needs now emerging; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33229/04]
View answerBernard J. Durkan
Question:237 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the extent to which moneys have been expended under the CLÁR programme on a county basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33515/04]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 56, 85 and 237 together.
I introduced the CLÁR programme in October 2001 to address depopulation as well as the decline and lack of services in rural areas. Areas in 18 counties with a population of 362,000 have been selected under the programme, including areas I announced in January 2003. This honoured the commitment to review in An Agreed Programme for Government in light of the 2002 population census data. There are no plans for any further review of the boundary of CLÁR areas. No other significant areas fulfil the population criteria for inclusion in CLÁR.
CLÁR funds or co-funds, together with other Departments, State agencies and local authorities, investment in selected priority developments. These investments are made through a series of more than 20 measures, which 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 measures were agreed with and are 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 new measures I may introduce, depending on identified needs. Equally, I will keep the operation of existing measures under review.
The merits of this practice are reflected in the successful delivery of the programme. Expenditure amounted to €14.14 million in 2002 and €8.613 million in 2003 which, it is estimated, secured a further €21 million in related public and private expenditure in these areas, which otherwise would have been bottom of the list for infrastructure investment. Expenditure in 2004, which I expect to be up to €12 million, has, with ongoing leverage of other funding, continued to support investment in physical, economic and social infrastructure across a wide range of measures.
The breakdown of expenditure by county from 2002 to date in 2004 is as follows:
|
County |
CLÁR Expenditure — 2002 to date |
|
€ |
|
|
Cavan |
2,351,796 |
|
Clare |
2,265,419 |
|
Cork |
2,339,944 |
|
Donegal |
2,362,799 |
|
Galway |
2,704,601 |
|
Kerry |
2,881,463 |
|
Leitrim |
4,443,305 |
|
Limerick |
153,601 |
|
Longford |
678,425 |
|
Louth |
825,885 |
|
Mayo |
4,757,981 |
|
Meath |
131,219 |
|
Monaghan |
556,084 |
|
Roscommon |
2,638,347 |
|
Sligo |
1,995,533 |
|
Tipperary North |
364,840 |
|
Tipperary South |
221,411 |
|
Waterford |
186,563 |
|
Westmeath |
283,519 |
|
Total |
32,142,735 |