Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 July 2016
274. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the position regarding the proposal to provide a new library in Virginia, County Cavan; the stage this project is at; the estimated timeline for the tendering process; the estimated costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24073/16]
View answerThe development of Virginia Library will be supported by my Department under the Libraries Capital Investment Programme 2016-2021. My Department will provide a contribution of €850,000 under the capital programme towards the overall cost of the proposed development, which is estimated at €3.5 million. The matching funding will be provided by Cavan County Council, which has responsibility generally for the provision of premises and facilities in the public library service in its capacity as a library authority.
Projects will be funded on a phased basis over the lifetime of the capital programme. Accordingly, while the development of Virginia library may progress at the discretion of Cavan County Council, Department funding for the proposal will be available for drawdown from 2021. The project will also be subject to a four-stage approval process, which will be dictated largely by Cavan County Council’s readiness to proceed through the various stages. Stage one of the approval process, the initial project capital appraisal, commenced recently and I expect the outcome of the appraisal will be notified by my Department to Cavan County Council in the near future.
