Two coastal community projects in East Cork have been awarded a total of €31,246 of Fisheries Local Action Group (FLAG) grant funding, says Cork East Fine Gael TD and Minister of State at the Department of Justice, David Stanton.
FLAG grants are co-funded by the Government and the European Union under Ireland’s European Maritime & Fisheries Fund (EMFF) Operational Programme 2014-2020. Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed T.D. has recently announced an EMFF grant funding package of €4 million to be awarded to 274 coastal based projects nationwide, supporting overall investment of almost €6.4 million in the projects.
The following two East Cork projects have been allocated grants under the latest round of FLAG funding:
Applicant – Project title – Grant aid
• Glounthaune Tidy Towns – Harper’s Island Wetland Centre Promotional Video – €3,280
• East Cork Biodiversity Networking Programme (ECBNP) – Coastal Habitats and walkways – €27,966
“I am delighted to learn that two innovative projects in East Cork have been awarded EMFF grants by the South FLAG, further promoting their importance to their respective local communities” said Minister Stanton.
”This grant aid will provide much needed support to the ECBNP to allow it to continue to enhance biodiversity and environmental sustainability amongst the coastal areas of East Cork. Similarly, the funding granted to Harper’s Island Wetland Centre will be of considerable benefit in enabling Glounthaune Tidy Towns to further promote the important work of this national nature conservation project”.
Projects must be able to demonstrate a clear link to coastal community rejuvenation, enterprise, innovation, job creation and skills enhancement across the fishing, aquaculture and maritime industries. Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) assists FLAGs to deliver this programme via grant-aid, training and on the ground facilitation, with dedicated regional FLAG coordinators in each region.
Details on the FLAG scheme and on how to apply can be found at:
http://www.bim.ie/schemes/fisheries,local,area,group,development,flag,2016,-,2023/
Further information on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund 2014-2020 is available at:
http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/emff/
