The CLÁR Programme provides funding under a number of different Measures for small-scale infrastructural projects in designated rural areas that have experienced significant levels of de-population over a defined period.
The project referred to by the Deputy was approved under CLÁR 2019 for €20,000.
A claim for payment in respect of this project was been received by my Department earlier this year and was subject to a pre-payment inspection. Issues were identified with the delivery of the project as part of that inspection and a preliminary letter of findings issued to the local authority.
A response was received from the local authority in respect of this preliminary letter of findings but a number of outstanding issues still remain. The local authority has been afforded additional time to address these outstanding issues.
It is expected that a final letter of findings will issue in the coming weeks.