Drugs schemes and deprived areas get extra funds

FUNDING for drugs programmes and disadvantaged communities is to rise significantly next year as the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs budget rises by 19% to €330 million.

The rise in the department's estimates includes an increase of 33% in capital spending on the Government's much-criticised RAPID programme. The programme, which aims to tackle deprived areas that have missed out on Ireland's increasing prosperity, gets an additional €1.5m, bringing total funding for next year to €7.3m.

Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Minister Eamon Ó Cuiv said the huge increase in RAPID funding was not a "post election wake-up" for the Government. Mr Ó Cuiv said that after years of being unhappy with the RAPID programme he was now confident the necessary "spadework" had been done to improve the programme.