From Department of Rural and Community Development
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The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, has today (15 August 2024) announced funding of €3 million to develop and upgrade visitor and recreational amenities at Coillte Forest Parks across Ireland.
The investment is part of a strategic partnership between the Department of Rural and Community Development and Coillte to maintain and manage existing trails in Coillte forests, and to develop new recreation opportunities. The funding will be used to deliver a range of projects such as new walking trails, carpark improvements, installation of footbridges and new toilet facilities.
The Top 10 most visited Coillte Parks in the country were also announced today with Rossmore Park in Monaghan continuing to be ranked number one with 357,834 visitors in 2023.
The top 10 most visited Coillte Parks:
| Location | Visitor Numbers in 2023 | |
| 1 | Rossmore Forest Park,Co Monaghan | 357,834 |
| 2 | Ticknock Recreation Area , Co Dublin | 244,011 |
| 3 | Donadea Forest Park, Co Kildare | 203,543 |
| 4 | Jenkinstown Wood, Co Kilkenny | 89,610 |
| 5 | Killykeen Forest Park Co.Cavan | 88,674 |
| 6 | Belleek Co Mayo | 86,879 |
| 7 | Hazelwood, Co Sligo | 85,867 |
| 8 | Tintern Abbey, Co Wexford | 64,582 |
| 9 | Portumna Forest Park , Co Galway | 59,329 |
| 10 | Ards Forest Park , Co Donegal | 45,195 |
Speaking at Rossmore Park, Minister Humphreys said:
“Adventure tourism continues to go from strength to strength in Ireland. People want to be out and about enjoying our great outdoors whether it’s our beaches, lakes, mountains or of course our wonderful forests.
“We have seen a huge surge in visitor numbers to our forest parks in recent years and I want to see that continue. I’m delighted that my Department is working collaboratively with Coillte so that we can upgrade and improve the experience for visitors.
“If you want to take a break and get some peace and quiet – there is nothing quite like a walk in the forest. There are so many hidden gems on our doorstep in Ireland and I would encourage people to get out and explore them.”
Imelda Hurley, Coillte CEO said:
‘We are delighted to continue our partnership with the Department of Rural and Community Development and this important funding will enable us to further enhance the experience for visitors to our recreational forests across the country.
‘As Ireland’s largest provider of outdoor recreation, we’re delighted to welcome an estimated 18m visits to our recreational areas from across Ireland and indeed, further afield. Getting out in nature has proven positive benefits for people’s wellbeing and we look forward to further developing our recreational amenities for everyone to enjoy.
Examples of some of the projects being funded today include:
Deerpark, Co Cavan, Design & construction of new car park entrance to Forest - €200,000
Belleek, Co Mayo: Belleek Wood Pond Rejuvenation Project. - €150,000
Kilrush Recreation Forest Park, Co. Clare: Trail surface improvements works – €75,000
Castlegrove, Co Galway: Trail enhancement works - €115,000
Tibradden, Co Dublin: Carpark Improvement Works - Phase 1 - €80,000
Donadea Forest Park, Co Kildare: Phase 1 of New Trail - €50,000
Curragh Chase Forest Park, Co Limerick: Road & Cark Park Resurfacing - €40,000
Slieve Foye, Co Louth: Recreation infrastructure improvement works - €60,000
Rossmore Forest Park, Co Monaghan: Installation of new toilets - €49,000
Full details of the €3m funding being allocated to projects for 2024 are available here.
Minister Humphreys also today launched the report of the 2023 programme of investment which sets out the projects and outcomes from the investment provided to Coillte in 2023. This report can be found here.
ENDS
Notes:
Embracing Ireland’s Outdoor - National Outdoor Recreation Strategy 2023 - 2027
Today’s announcement is a key contributor to the implementation of Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors, the National Outdoor Recreation Strategy 2023 - 2027 which is set to strengthen and support the sustainable development of outdoor recreation in the coming years.
The Department of Rural & Community Development has a strategic partnership in place with Coillte via a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The MoU agrees to provide €3 million each year for the period 2022-2026 to Coillte to enhance recreational facilities on Coillte land and to support increased tourism and economic activity in rural areas.
This builds on the previous 5 year agreement which provided funding of €11 million over the period 2017-2021.
Coillte
Coillte is the custodian of more than 440,000 hectares of forest and land making it Ireland’s largest forest manager. Coillte aims to balance and deliver the multiple benefits of its forests for climate, nature, wood and people. Coillte is the largest provider of outdoor recreation in Ireland with 260 forest recreational areas, twelve forest parks and six mountain bike centres nationwide.
Details of previous funding are provided in the annual reports produced by Coillte which are available on the Department’s website at: https://www.gov.ie/en/policy-information/fd0c9f-outdoor-recreation-infrastructure-scheme/