€70m cash injection to improve infrastructure in depopulated regions
The money has given isolated communities many services like public water and sewerage schemes as well as new piers for islands.
The CLÁR scheme, introduced by Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Minister Éamon Ó Cuiv two years ago, set out to help rural areas that would otherwise have been at the bottom of the infrastructural investment list.
Mr Ó Cuiv said: “my motto from the beginning of the CLÁR programme was that a little goes a long way if wisely invested, and I am delighted that the success of the programme has proven me right.”
To date, the CLÁR programme has approved €29 million directly for these projects and this has been matched by €41 million from other government departments, state agencies, local authorities and private sources.
The success of the small public water and sewerage schemes highlighted perfectly the effectiveness of the CLÁR programme, said Mr Ó Cuiv.
Last year, 33 small public water and sewerage schemes in eight counties were helped by this programme. The projects were jointly funded by CLÁR, which paid 37.5%; the local authorities, which paid 25% and the Department of the Environment, which paid 37.5%. Among the other projects helped were: telecommunications, health, road and community initiative schemes. While parts of 18 counties benefited from this CLÁR programme only one county, Leitrim, qualified completely for this funding. The top five counties which benefited from the direct 29 million CLÁR funding were:
Leitrim: €3.9m.
Galway: €2.6m.
Roscommon: €2.4m.
Kerry: €2.3m.
Donegal: €2.2m.
Other counties that got CLÁR funding included: Cavan, Clare, Cork, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford and Westmeath.
The regions which have been helped under this scheme have lost half their population since 1926.
