Some €185,000 has been allocated for improvements to towns and villages in Cork East constituency with populations of under 10,000 people says David Stanton, Fine Gael TD and Minister of State at the Department of Justice & Equality. This allocation brings the total amount of funding allocated under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme in Cork East to €873,200 since 2017.
“The Town and Village Renewal Scheme supports a wide range of projects aimed at making rural life more sustainable including public realm enhancements, re-purposing of community buildings and projects to support employment. It is operated by the Department of Rural and Community Development and administered by local authorities and forms part of the suite of measures to rejuvenate rural towns and villages under the Action Plan for Rural Development and the Government’s €1 Billion Project Ireland 2040 Programme for Rural Regeneration.
“I am delighted that under the 2019 Town and Village Renewal Scheme towns and villages in East Cork have been allocated a total of €40,000 for the installation of bike racks and lockers in various car parks. An allocation of €145,000 is being made to Doneraile for public realm works, the improvement of town centre amenities and also to provide public wi-fi services”, said Minister Stanton.
Under the 2019 Town and Village Renewal Scheme successful projects will be those identified by communities or businesses in conjunction with local authorities aimed at making towns and villages more attractive places in which to live and work. Up to 80% of the total cost for each approved project will be provided by the Department, with the remaining 20% being provided either through community contribution and/or Cork County Council.
“This year’s allocation brings the total expenditure since the Town and Village Renewal Scheme began in 2016 to €68 million for 830 projects. I understand from my colleague Minister Michael Ring that, due to the very high volume of applications, it was unfortunately, not possible to fund all the applications. However, I am pleased to see such high levels of interest in a scheme which supports the revitalisation of our rural towns and villages”, concluded Minister Stanton.