Niamh Smyth
Question:22. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the locations he is expanding the CLÁR funding for 2019 by categories; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45962/18]
View answerThursday, 8 November 2018
Questions (22)
Oral answers (6 contributions)
Does the Minister intend to expand the CLÁR funding for 2019 by categories and will he make a statement on that matter?
CLÁR 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. The Cooley Peninsula was also 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 over 50%.
In 2006, an analysis of the 2002 census data was carried out by the National Institute for Spatial and Regional Analysis, NIRSA, at Maynooth University and the programme was extended to include areas with an average population loss of 35% between 1926 and 2002.
The CLÁR programme was closed for new applications in 2010. However, I relaunched the programme in the second half of 2016, using as a base-line the areas identified in the work carried out by NIRSA. Over 1,200 projects have been approved for funding of €25 million under CLÁR since I relaunched the programme in 2016.
I have indicated a review of the CLÁR programme which will examine CLÁR areas by reference to the 2016 Census of Population data. This review will also help to inform future CLÁR programmes in 2019 and beyond. Decisions regarding specific measures which might be supported under the CLÁR programme in 2019 will be made early next year.
I would be the first to say to the Minister that the CLÁR funding makes significant differences to communities across the country and obviously in Cavan-Monaghan. In any recategorising of the programme in terms of population that the Minister is considering, a positive bias should be shown to the Border counties, which are now facing Brexit. Many of our towns and villages are just beginning to experience a resurgence and revival from the times of the Troubles and we now face into what may be more dark and gloomy times. I ask the Minister to show a positive discrimination to those areas. CLÁR funding is invaluable to schools and community groups.
I thank the Deputy for the comments. She is correct in what she said about CLÁR funding. It is not always big money that creates an impression. It is often small money that makes a major difference to small communities. As I said in my reply, I am doing a review of the CLÁR programme and it is time there was a proper review of it. I will put that review out at the end of the year and I will get some professional people to examine it. I will talk to communities, groups and everybody concerned. In my region there are areas that do not come under CLÁR and other areas that do come under it. Some of those areas have moved on and the other areas need a lift. Therefore, I need to review the programme. It is a good one under which we can target areas. The Deputy is correct in what she said about the Border areas. They have problems that other areas do not have and other areas have problems that the Border areas do not have. The CLÁR programme is working well. I will try to get a review of it done as quickly as possible as I need to examine other areas in terms of the CLÁR programme where I can spend money and specify where I want it to be spent.
I would like to raise an issue concerning Killinkere national school. Road safety calming measures have been needed in that area for many years. Certain projects qualify for CLÁR funding and others do not. In the last round of funding playground projects may have qualified. I ask the Minister to be mindful of funding for schools such as Killinkere national school. They fall out of the net of many other schemes and funding opportunities. This is a rural school in a rural populated area but well in excess of 100 children attend it and it also has a significant number of staff. They constantly worry in terms of trying to secure traffic calming measures. There are very few opportunities for the school authorities to apply for any type of funding for such a measure.
That is one measure that could be useful to them and I appeal to the Minister to be mindful of that.
With the CLÁR programme one of the better schemes that I oversaw was the safety scheme for outside schools. It is an important scheme. We have supported many schools throughout the country. We have made schools safer with signage, access and car parking. If there is a specific case, Deputy Smyth may take it up with me.
I am satisfied with the CLÁR programme. At this stage, I need to look at more areas where I can identify a need to bring in schemes and then deal with that need. One example from this year relates to cancer services. It applies especially in rural areas where people have to go long distances to get to cancer services. I helped to support some transport providers to make it easier for cancer patients to get to and from hospitals.
That is why I identified the schools schemes that were in place previously. It is one of the better schemes and it works well. Safety outside schools is important. I will do a total review of the CLÁR programme. What I would like – this is more difficult - is to have more money for the CLÁR programme, but that is an issue I have to fight at Government level.
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