*Minister Heather Humphreys at the Vandeleur Walled Gardens in Kilrush. Photograph: Eamon Ward
OVER €9m worth of funding from the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF) has been shared among projects in North, West and East Clare with nothing allocated for South or Mid Clare since 2018.
Established under the National Development Plan, the RRDF is a major programme of investment aimed at supporting large-scale projects to sustain economic and social development in rural areas and is administered by the Department of Rural and Community Development.
Acting senior executive officer in the rural and community development units of Clare County Council, Bernie Haugh explained, “the purpose of the fund is to support job creation in rural areas, address de-population of rural communities and support improvements in our towns and village with a population of less than 10,000”.
Since 2018, a total of €9,062,440 has been allocated to Clare County Council under the fund. The projects to benefit include; Lahinch Seaworld (€2,908,750), Vandeleur Estate (€1,975,819), Ennistymon Innovation Centre (€1,023,300), Inis Cealtra (€920,500), Cnoc na Gaoithe (€900,000), Loop Head Visitor Attraction (€868,500) and Doolin Pier (€465,571).
Broken down by Municipal District, this funding has been split between the West Clare MD receiving €7,241,940 and the Killaloe MD getting €1,820,500. Projects for Shannon and Ennis would have to apply via a separate fund, the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) but large parts of the Ennis MD and Shannon MD would fall into the criteria for RRDF funding.
Loop Head Lighthouse, Kilrush Maritime Centre plus a digital and street regeneration project in Scariff are the projects the Council are awaiting a decision from the Department on. No decision has been made on projects to be submitted for the next round of RRDF.
“In fairness it is expected that projects from other MDs will feature strongly in the next round of RRDF submissions if the projects are shovel-ready,” Ms Haugh advised.
Director of Rural Development, Leonard Cleary said that data is needed to back up the strength of a project. “It needs to be able to demonstrate economic impact which is a key deciding factor,” he outlined.
An update on future applications from the West Clare MD had been sought by Cllr Cillian Murphy (FF) as he expressed hope that further additions would be made. “We’ve been very fortunate, the Minister has been very kind to us, we’re getting large sums of money for various projects, long may it continue,” quipped Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG). Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG) added, “For everything we get, the exponential value is really worthwhile”.
