Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 April 2023
59. Deputy Ciarán Cannon asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development when local groups in Galway will be able to apply for funding under the outdoor recreation infrastructure fund; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19234/23]
View answer60. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development when local groups in Dublin Mid-West will be able to apply for funding under the outdoor recreation infrastructure fund; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19237/23]
View answerWhen does the Minister intend to reopen the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme, ORIS? It has been extraordinarily successful in recent years in supporting communities and, indeed, local authorities in developing new outdoor activity infrastructure projects. This serves two purposes, not alone to embellish and enhance the attractiveness of localities for tourism but also to support the development of amenities that benefit the local community in terms of people's health and well-being.
Two particular projects are under way in east Galway right now, one of which is at the Long Point on Loughrea Lake and the other in Portumna at Lough Derg, which will come to fruition fairly shortly and be of immense benefit. How can that good work be replicated throughout the country in the shortest timeframe?
I propose to take Questions Nos. 59 and 60 together.
The ORIS is funded by my Department under Our Rural Future. The scheme provides funding for the development and enhancement of outdoor infrastructure such as trails, walkways, cycleways, blueways and bridleways throughout rural Ireland.
The scheme is central to embracing Ireland outdoors, the new national outdoor recreation strategy, which is set to shape the future of outdoor recreation over the next five years. The strategy will ensure there is a joined-up and co-ordinated approach to deliver maximum impact from the significant investment in the sector and build on the natural advantages in place. The strategy also aims to increase the number of people active in the outdoors, especially young people and under-represented groups, and to foster a greater understanding of how to enjoy the outdoors responsibly.
There is an undoubted increase in the appetite for the outdoors. A growing wealth of trails, cycleways, greenways and outdoor recreation infrastructure has been developed in recent years thanks to significant levels of investment across government. Since the launch of the ORIS in 2016, funding of in excess of €106 million has supported more than 1,500 projects across the country. County Galway has seen investment of €5.2 million supporting more than 65 projects, and Dublin Mid-West has seen investment of €1.6 million supporting eight projects. I expect to open another round of funding under the scheme in the coming weeks under four measures, that is, small-scale projects requiring funding of up to €30,000, medium-scale projects with funding of up to €200,000, large scale projects seeking funding of up to €500,000 and project development funding of up to €50,000 for development costs for strategic large-scale projects.
Projects within County Galway and Dublin Mid-West are eligible to apply for ORIS funding. While projects should in the main be located in the countryside, the development of recreational amenities in the vicinity of urban stretches of rivers, lakes and beaches may also be considered. The scheme may also fund recreational infrastructure linking a town or village to the countryside and particularly linking towns or villages to other outdoor recreation facilities located in the countryside. I encourage local community and voluntary groups to engage with either the relevant local authority or local development company that administers the scheme at a local level on behalf of my Department. I look forward to accepting applications to further support outdoor recreation projects in Galway and, indeed, further afield across the country.
Deputy Cannon is a big supporter of the walks project, particularly the one in Loughrea. I announced more than €200,000 for that project last year and was delighted to visit it with him. He also mentioned the project in Portumna, and I will follow up with him on that.
It is great that the scheme will be reopened relatively shortly. We underestimate the value of investing in facilities like this, as I said, not alone from a tourism perspective. The Irish Association for Adventure Tourism recently outlined that adventure tourism right now is worth well over €1 billion to the tourism economy. As the Minister pointed out, that is something we will see developing with an extensive network of greenways and blueways being developed right across the country as we speak.
What it also does in leveraging community endeavour and community activism is inspire communities to get behind projects and for people to roll up their sleeves to do local fundraising and have this great sense of pride in the facilities that are developed. It is an opportunity to row in behind communities who ultimately know best what kinds of facilities are needed locally. Those very strong partnerships the Minister is developing with our local authorities across the country will reap major dividends for Ireland in the future.
I have to agree with Deputy Cannon. There is no question that ORIS and the other schemes we have all over the country are major tourist attractions, and not alone for people walking but also for people's health. They were a godsend in every corner in this country, in particular, during Covid-19
The next time the Minister is having discussions with the local authorities, she might ask them to make sure they maintain them, because the Minister and Department have done fabulous work. That is part of the problem. They need to put schemes in place to make sure they are maintained because they are great assets for counties and for the country. The number of people who come to my county and into my town and area for walks is good for tourism, bed and breakfast accommodation, food outlets and pubs. It brings thousands of people. They have been a great success. I would not like to see anything happening to them, which is why I would like the local authorities to take a keener interest in maintaining some of them.
I thank the Minister for all the work she is doing in this area. Are these schemes community-led in the main? Do they come from the ground up rather than being imposed by local authorities?
I ask because sometimes, schemes open and close quite quickly and people do not have time to make the application. There is a very short window in which one can make an application. Will the Minister keep in mind the giving of time to people and community groups? Will she make sure they are advertised pretty well in order that people know about them and present the detail in a user-friendly fashion?
I have been involved in a particular project with a number of community groups. The problem is that the route cuts across two local authorities. It is about getting co-operation. One is Cork City Council, the other is Cork County Council and the issue is whether it can be co-ordinated between the two. There must be buy-in by both authorities. It is a well-developed project by a small number of people that is really worth examining. Both local authorities are examining it but unless they work together, the project will never get off the ground.
If the Deputy had said Kerry and Cork county councils were not working together I might have understood but there is no excuse for two Cork local authorities not working together. The Deputy should tell them to work together and we will work with them if they work together. These boundaries would do your head in. These schemes are community-led. During the Covid pandemic, as we all know, we had to stay within 5 km and we suddenly discovered walkways that needed a bit of work but which we never knew existed. We were able to provide funding to upgrade those trails. Deputy Cannon spoke about adventure tourism. You just have to go to the Slieve Bloom Mountains to see the benefits of the mountain bike trail. That is adventure tourism at its best. There are loads of other facilitates around the country that have been funded through the outdoor recreation scheme. It is a great scheme that puts money into local areas through visitors into the economy and it is good for mental health as well. It is good to keep fit. There are many benefits to it. I will continue to support this scheme. The outdoor recreation scheme is one of the best schemes we have. We also are examining the improvement of surfaces and making them more accessible for wheelchairs and even parents with buggies. Some of the walkways were not particularly good and we will examine how we can make them more easily accessible. It is a great scheme and we will continue to support it.
The next question, Question No. 61, is from Deputy Cairns, who is not present and no one is taking it for her. One of my questions was grouped with it. Somebody from Fine Gael might want to take the question as well. The questions are grouped. The questions pertain to remote working hubs and high-speed broadband, if anyone is offering.
I will be next.
Does Deputy Durkan wish to proceed?
Can I swap? I am happy to swap with the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach.
Lean ar aghaidh.
