merrion street

Minister of State Ring approves €1.21M in funding for Emergency First Response initiatives in CLÁR areas. 

Minister of State for Regional Economic Development, Michael Ring TD, today (date) approved €1.21 million to a range of organisations throughout the country under the Emergency First Response measure of the CLÁR programme. The funding will provide support for organisations that are involved in a voluntary capacity in responding to emergency situations in CLÁR areas.  Funding will go to a range of organisations, from small Community First Response groups, to Mountain Rescue and Sub Aqua Rescue teams. 

Speaking today, Minister Ring said:

“I was particularly pleased to announce this new initiative under the CLÁR programme this year to support voluntary first-response organisations who provide an excellent service in rural areas, often under very difficult circumstances. The high level of interest from applicants reinforces my belief in the importance of the support provided by first responders all over the country to complement the State emergency services. 

Due to the number and quality of the applications received. I am very happy to be able to provide funding of €1.21 million to these groups today.  This is 60% more than the €750,000 initially ear-marked for the measure. Funding will be provided to a large variety of organisations that provide critical and lifesaving support in rural areas, and I am confident that this funding will allow those organisations to save more lives in the years ahead.

The Minister went on to say….

“The services supported through this funding will provide people in rural areas and those who visit the countryside for recreational purposes, with the confidence that specialist support of the highest quality will be available to them should they ever find themselves in an emergency situation. I have always had a great respect for the volunteers that put themselves on the line in order to help others, and I hope this funding goes some way to supporting their efforts.”  

The CLÁR programme is funded by the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and forms part of the Government’s Action Plan for Rural Development.

The funding announced by Minister Ring is the first phase of the allocation of the €5 million available under CLÁR this year.  The Minister will announce further allocations under other measures in the CLÁR programme shortly.

Notes for Editors

Background

The CLÁR programme (Ceantair Laga Árd-Riachtanais) is a targeted capital investment programme for rural areas which have experienced significant levels of depopulation.  The programme was originally launched in October 2001 but was closed for applications in 2010. The scheme was re-opened by Minister Ring in 2016 to support the development of remote rural areas through small-scale capital projects involving collaboration between Local Authorities and communities. The CLÁR programme funded 651 projects across Ireland in 2016.

Areas targeted under the CLÁR Programme are parts of counties: Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Kilkenny, Laois, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath, Wicklow and all of County Leitrim. A map of CLÁR areas is provided below.

2017 Measures

The 2017 CLÁR programme will provide funding under four Measures:

Measure 1:      Support for Schools/Community Safety Measures

Measure 2:      Play Areas

Measure 3:      Targeted Community Infrastructure Needs

Measure 4:      First Response Support Measure

The programme is funded by the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs under the Government’s Action Plan for Rural Development.

The funding announced under the First Response Support Measure will support the work of voluntary emergency response organisations in CLÁR areas.  These include the network of Irish Community Rapid Response GPs, Mountain Rescue Teams, and Sub-Aqua Recovery Groups.  The Minister will announce further allocations under other measures in the CLÁR programme shortly.

Breakdown of allocations by county

The breakdown of the allocations made under the Emergency First Response Measure, by county, is provided below and reflects the applications received from voluntary first response bodies operating in the regions in question.