Longford receives €132,385 in funding to 'enhance communities'

Michael Ring TD, the Minister for Rural and Community Development, has today confirmed that 2,106 community initiatives around the country have been allocated a total of €4,524,124 under his Department’s Community Enhancement Programme.

That includes approximately 57 Longford projects, receiving a lump sum of around €132,385 for important community initiatives in the county.

The Community Enhancement Programme provides capital grants to community groups to help them to enhance facilities in disadvantaged communities. It supports a range of activities in all areas of communities, such as childcare groups, playgrounds, recreational groups, sports grounds, landscaping, and supporting the elderly.

Speaking today, Minister Ring said: “Having allocated over €4.5 million under the Community Enhancement Programme in 2019, I am delighted to confirm that more than 2,000 projects are set to benefit from it. A relatively small amount of money can go a long way and this investment will greatly benefit local community projects throughout the country.”

Today’s announcement follows an open application process which was administered by Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) in each Local Authority area. It is intended to run the programme again in 2020.

Minister Ring continued: “Typical enhancements under the Programme include the renovation of community centres and community amenities, improvements to town parks and common areas and spaces and the purchase of equipment which is used to benefit the community. The programme has also supported energy efficient upgrades, developing community gardens, provision of defibrillators, CCTV, and sports and IT equipment.”

For more on this story, see next week's Longford Leader.