Minister outlines development funding

COUNTY Wexford received a total of € 470,000 from the new Community Enhancement Programme, the Minister for Rural & Community Development Michael Ring told Fianna Fail Deputy James Browne during Question Time.

‘I originally allocated €4.5m to the programme in 2018, and subsequently increased the funding, bringing the total amount to €12.5 million,’ he said. ‘Of this, County Wexford received a total of €470,891. In addition, I made €23,188 available to the 16 men’s sheds in Wexford under the men’s shed fund, which is part of the community enhancement programme.’

While the funding for 2019 is not yet confirmed, the Minister said he expect the national allocation to be in the region of the €4.5 million that was initially provided in 2018. County allocations will be determined in 2019.

‘Under the Social Inclusion & Activation Programme (SICAP) programme, we put €1.7 million into Wexford and we put in €470,000 under the Community Enhancement Programme,’ he added. ‘Poverty is both urban and rural and these schemes were set up to target areas of need. It is my job to treat urban and rural areas equally in this regard and ensure that the available funding is delivered to where it is needed. There is not an urban-rural divide in our approach and I have to deal with where the deprivation is.’