Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 April 2018
1356. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development his plans to review the CLÁR areas based on the result of the 2016 census; if so, when this review will be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15550/18]
View answerThe CLÁR programme was originally launched in October 2001 to provide for targeted investment in disadvantaged rural areas. The areas originally selected for inclusion in the programme were those which suffered the greatest population decline from 1926 to 1996, with the exception of the Cooley Peninsula which was included on the basis of the serious difficulties caused in that area by Foot and Mouth disease. The average population loss in the original CLÁR regions over the period 1926 to 1996 was 50%.
In 2006, an analysis of the 2002 Census data was carried out by the National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis (NIRSA) at Maynooth University and the programme was extended to include areas with an average population loss of 35% between 1926 and 2002.
CLÁR was effectively closed to new applications in 2010 due to the economic crisis but, as the Deputy will be aware, I reopened the programme in 2016. Areas for inclusion in the programme since then have been based on NIRSA's 2006 analysis.
Almost 900 projects have been approved for CLÁR funding in 2016 and 2017, and I have recently launched the 2018 CLÁR programme which has a closing date of 30 April.
It is my intention to carry out a full assessment of the CLÁR areas later this year on the basis of the 2016 Census of Population data. The rate of depopulation will continue to be a primary factor in deciding whether the CLÁR designation should apply to an area. I plan to begin the assessment process in the coming months with the aim of having the exercise completed before the end of this year.
The findings of the review will inform the future operation of the CLÁR scheme.
