€464,000 boost for forestry roads

A FURTHER allocation of €464,200 for works to be carried out on forestry access roads in CLÁR areas was announced yesterday by Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Minister Éamon Ó Cuív.

The funding under a CLÁR and Coillte co-funded scheme is in addition to an allocation of €527,650 made in June.

A total of 68 projects totalling almost €4.2 million in value has been funded since the scheme started in 2002.

Coillte chief executive David Gunning said the net result is that Coillte can extract timber from forests that otherwise would have been inaccessible.

At the same time, local communities benefit from the economic activity and from road improvements in areas that are sparsely populated.

Mr Ó Cuív said the initiative is a shining example of the sort of progress that can be made through cooperation.

“This is the fourth year of the scheme and there has been significant improvement to local infrastructure in the CLÁR areas that have benefited so far.

“Safety standards in forestry transportation have been improved, and this, in turn, has facilitated further employment in the forestry industry,” he said.

Mr Ó Cuív said roads at Crinaloo in north Cork, Temple Glentain in west Limerick, Deelis, west Kerry, Haugh, Donegal, and Kilthomas, Galway, will benefit from the latest funding.

CLÁR is a targeted investment programme for rural areas that suffered over a 35% drop in population between 1926 and 2002.

The programme covers parts of 22 counties and all of Co Leitrim and benefits a population of nearly 727,000.