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Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, has officially opened a wide range of projects across Galway which have received significant funding 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 Portumna, where she visited Portumna Courthouse and viewed plans for the refurbishment and upgrade of the historic building. The project is being supported with €2.55 million under the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund.
Speaking at Portumna Courthouse, the Minister said:
“The Portumna Courthouse project will be a flagship regeneration project that will restore the historic courthouse building and redevelop it as a state of the art multi-purpose centre for the community. This is a truly exciting regeneration project which will provide a much need resource for the community in Portumna.”
The Minster then went to open Killimor Remote Working Hub, which received almost €25,000 in funding under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, and then viewed “The Walks” in Loughrea which showcases the only surviving functioning moat in Ireland, and which received €400,000 in funding from the department’s Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme.
The Minister then officially opened Castleblakeney Playground, which received €100,000 in funding under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme and made her final stop at Mountbellew for the official opening of a new Galway Rural Development Office.
Speaking at the official opening of the Rural Development Office in Mountbellew, the Minister concluded:
“I am delighted to be visiting Mountbellew, which was very proud to be chosen last year as a location for the LEADER funded Smart Villages initiative, which helps local communities to develop innovative solutions and approaches to the challenges and opportunities that they face. The Galway Rural Development team are playing a key role in delivering Smart Villages here in Mountbellew, as well carrying out their vital role in delivering a range of supports and services for local communities in Galway. This includes schemes such as LEADER and SICAP, which are funded by my department and which make a real impact in rural communities across Ireland. Supporting local communities to shape their future is a key focus of the government’s new Rural Development Policy, Our Rural Future.”
Please find full details of the investments and projects launched as part of the Minister’s engagements in Galway.
The Portumna Courthouse project was approved for funding of €2.55 million from the third call for Category 1 RRDF applications. The cost of the project is €2.84 million.
The lead party is Galway County Council. Project partners include the OPW, Fáilte Ireland, Portumna Chamber of Commerce, Town and Community Hall Group, Waterways Ireland and Coillte.
The project will redevelop the historic Courthouse building and courtyard in Portumna which has been vacant for 2 decades. The building will be redeveloped as a vibrant, community focused multipurpose arts, performance, remote working and social place.
The project encompasses the physical and social regeneration of a key local heritage asset creating a public and cultural hub that will enhance day and evening time tourism and community activity as well as providing remote working opportunities for the local community and business operators.
The Remote Working Hub received €25,000 under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme 2020 to repurpose part of old school into a remote work space facility with high speed broadband and associated facilities.
Approved for a total of €400,000 under the Outdoor Recreation and Infrastructure Scheme between 2018 and 2020:
Approved for €100,000 under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme in 2020.
The provision of an outdoor recreation area containing children’s playground, outdoor gym, walking routes and car parking facilities.
Galway Rural Development delivers LEADER in the East Galway region (Oranmore, Athenry, Loughrea, Ballinasloe and Tuam). Under the 2014-2020 LEADER programme, East Galway was allocated a project budget of €5.7 million, with a further €2.2 million allocated under the transitional LEADER programme for 2021-2022).
The opening of the new GRD office in Mountbellew follows on the town’s successful piloting of the LEADER funded Smart Village initiative in 2021.
In late 2021, Mountbellew was confirmed as a location for the Smart Villages initiative. Smart villages are communities in rural areas that use innovative solutions to improve their resilience, building on local strengths and opportunities. The national Smart Villages Plan is a collaboration between 3 Local Development Companies – GRD, Kilkenny LEADER partnership, and IRD Duhallow.
Earlier this year, Mountbellew became the first town in Ireland to complete the training element of the Smart Villages Programme. This training intervention was designed to help up-skill the local community under a range of themes such as food, nature, towns and transport.
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 Galway, the Fund has provided €13.28 million in funding for projects worth €18.6 million.
The Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) provides funding for the development of new outdoor recreational infrastructure. It also provides support for the necessary repair, maintenance, enhancement or promotion of existing outdoor recreational infrastructure in rural areas across Ireland. ORIS provides funding for the development of new and existing outdoor recreational infrastructure in rural areas. It funds trails, cycleways, blueways, bridleways, outdoor amenities located near rivers, lakes and beaches.
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.