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Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, today opened a series of projects across County Donegal, which received funding of over €8 million from her department.
All of the projects opened as part of the Minister’s visit received investment under the government’s ambitious rural development policy, Our Rural Future.
Minister Humphreys began the day in Buncrana, where she officially opened the newly re-developed Swan Park.
The park has been closed since it was damaged by a flash flood in 2017. The project received over €1.7 million under the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund.
Speaking at Swan Park, Minister Humphreys said:
“The floods that took place in Inishowen in 2017 ripped apart Swan Park, an amenity that meant so much to this community. I can only imagine what it was like for the community here, and indeed the young people, to watch on as bridges were torn down and this beautiful park was left destroyed. That’s why today is really special – for this official opening marks the culmination of years of hard work and determination endured by the community of Buncrana. This is a day for which you are rightly proud – having now brought Swan Park back to life to the benefit of generations to come.”
The Minister’s next stop was to Carrigart where she officially opened the Carrigart Digital Hub, which has received €200,000 under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme and almost €23,000 under the Connected Hubs Call.
Speaking at the opening of Carrigart Digital Hub, Minister Humphreys said:
"What we now have is a state-of-the-art digital hub that provides so many opportunities for this beautiful part of Donegal. Opportunities for young workers to realise their career potential within their own communities - without the need move to the likes Galway, Belfast or Dublin to take up a job. Opportunities for small and medium enterprises to create an even more motivated workforce and without the need to purchase expensive office buildings in the cities. And opportunities too for the many holiday makers who come to Donegal during the summer months – facilities like these give them the option to work a day or two in their local digital hub.”
The Minister’s final visit of her first day in Donegal was to Gweedore where she officially opened gteic @ Gaoth Dobhair. This hub received almost €1.5 million from the department under the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund as well as over €57,000 under the Connected Hubs Call.
Opening the hub, Minister Humphreys said:
"As you will all know, the gteic network of innovation, enterprise and co-working hubs is growing. It is growing because the vision that Údarás na Gaeltachta has for this country is shared by us all: that our language should thrive, that our communities should be resilient and sustainable, that talented people may be found – and must be supported – regardless of where they live or work in Ireland. Rural Ireland has the talent, it has the jobs and, thanks to initiatives like the gteic network, we have the facilities.”
Please find full details of the investments and projects launched as part of the Minister’s engagements in Donegal Day 1.
Swan Park is a Category 1 project that was approved for funding of €1,728,042 from the first call for applications to the Fund.
The project is led by Donegal County Council in partnership with Inishowen Development Partnership, Failte Ireland, Buncrana Chamber of Commerce, Buncrana Tidy Towns, Buncrana Anglers Association and Inish Adventures.
The project will utilise the Swan Park site to its full potential by developing a visitor experience and providing and offering that will entice people to stay longer in the area.
Swan Park is a very important amenity to Buncrana and is central to the tourism potential of Buncrana and its wider hinterland with significant potential to drive social and economic development.
On 22 August, 2017 the park was destroyed by a flash flood that devastated much of Inishowen and the park has been closed to the public since then.
The redevelopment provides an opportunity to sympathetically restore and conserve the site for the benefit of future generations in the wider area. The project intends to improve physical and social inclusion, including accessibility and provide connected routes between places for wildlife, recreation, walking, cycling and provide for children and young people’s play and recreation.
Carrigart Digital Hub is a local community initiative, funded €200,000 by the 2017 Town and Village Renewal and being project managed by Donegal County Council. This Digital hub is located in the Donegal Gaeltacht in the northwest of Ireland and will offer remote working space for both a local community and seasonal tourist community.
This hub provides Co-working spaces as well as a meeting room and teleconferencing facilities. The hub has a current capacity of 18 workspaces and has committed tenants ready to use the space once completed.
€22,577.88 of Connected Hubs 2021 funding was allocated to the development of Carrigart Digital Hub.
Funding was approved for:
This hub was part of a multi-hub application submitted by Donegal County Council. The overall funding allocated was €250,000 which was spread over 5 hubs. An application was not submitted for the 2022 Connected Hubs Call as the 2021 project is not completed.
As the Hub is in the final stages of completion it has yet to join the National Connected Hubs network where it can avail of its many collaborative opportunities and services, including where it enables BASE hub users to book a Hotdesk or office space using the Connectedhubs.ie platform or via the easy to use mobile app.
gteic @ Gaoth Dobhair is a Category 1 project that was approved for funding of €1,498,960.99 from the first call for applications to the Fund.
The project is led by Údarás Na Gaeltachta in partnership with Donegal County Council, Letterkenny Institute of Technology, Cumann Tráchtála agus Turasóireachta Ghaoth Dobhair.
Phase 2 of gteic @ Gaoth Dobhair was undertaken as a collaborative project which co-ordinated and facilitated the development of key facilities and programmes to support emerging and established enterprises. It provides circa 170 workspaces, including state of the art offices, coworking spaces and hotdesks. This level also includes a modern presentation theatre, conference call rooms and other amenities.
gteic@Gaoth Dobhair is currently home to 21 businesses and projects, employing over 50 people and with a strong pipeline to increase these numbers further. Current tenants include companies from the software development, immersive technologies, finance, e-commerce, food, healthcare, graphic design and media production sectors.
gteic@Gaoth Dobhair has experienced a significant increase in demand for remote working and hot-desking facilities since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and has been a significant factor in the return of members of the diaspora and their families to the Donegal Gaeltacht. This return of members of the diaspora and their families, many of whom are native Irish speakers, highlights the social importance of the hub and its contribution to maintaining and developing the population and the Irish language.
The project commenced in February 2019 and was completed in November 2019.
€57,262 of Connected Hubs 2021 funding was allocated to the development of gteic @ Gaoth Dobhair. Funding was approved for:
This hub was part of a multi-hub application submitted by Údarás na Gaeltachta. The overall funding allocated was €250,000 which was spread over 10 hubs. An application was submitted for the 2022 Connected Hubs Call, however it was not deemed eligible as the 2021 project was not complete.
gteic @ Gaoth Dobhair is also a member of the National Connected Hubs network and can avail of its many collaborative opportunities and services, including where it enables BASE hub users to book a Hotdesk or office space using the Connectedhubs.ie platform or via the easy to use mobile app.
Our Rural Future is the whole-of-government policy for rural Ireland for the period 2021-2025. It represents a new milestone in the approach to rural development policy for Ireland and adopts a more strategic, ambitious and holistic approach to investing in and maximising opportunities for rural areas.
The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund is a commitment of €1 billion by Government to be invested in rural Ireland over the period 2019 to 2027.
In total the Fund has now provided over €278 million for 191 projects across the country worth a total of €376 million.
In relation to projects in County Donegal, the Fund has provided €31 million in funding for projects worth €37.45 million.
The Town and Village Renewal Scheme provides funding for projects that make our towns and villages more attractive and sustainable. Since the launch of the Town and Village Renewal Scheme in 2016, almost €93 million has been allocated to more than 1,300 projects across Ireland.
The primary objective of the Connected Hubs Call is to support and complement the development of the National Hub Network, which is a key action of the Rural Development Policy - Our Rural Future and the National Remote Working Strategy – Making Remote Work. The Connected Hubs Call aims to add additional capacity to the existing remote working infrastructure in Ireland by upgrading existing hubs and Broadband Connection Points (BCPs), while continuing to support COVID-19 mitigation measures.
The Connected Hubs Call will provide owners, operators and managers of existing remote working facilities and BCPs with the opportunity to identify and develop their own solutions in consultation with local authorities, local business interests (for example, Chambers of Commerce), Town Teams (or similar bodies) and community groups as appropriate.