From Department of Rural and Community Development
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Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, has officially opened and visited a range of projects across County Mayo which have received 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 her trip to Mayo with a visit to the Connacht GAA Air Dome in Bekan, which was made possible by a grant of €2.1 million from the department’s Rural Regeneration and Development Fund.
Speaking at the Air Dome, the Minister said:
“This project is absolutely spectacular, having received a huge investment of €2.1 million under my department’s Rural Regeneration and Development Fund. I understand this is the World’s largest sports air dome and it is fantastic to see it right bang in the middle of rural Ireland.
"I want to commend Connacht GAA for their vision in developing this project. I know the Air Dome has already hosted a number of inter-county games and provides a state of art facility regardless of the weather. I’m delighted my department has been able to support this great project which I believe could be replicated in other provinces."
The department remains a strong supporter in the continued development of the facility and during her visit Minister Humphreys turned the sod on a new €40,000 extension to a walkway on the site, funded by the CLÁR Programme.
The funding will provide an additional 700 metres of walkway and bolster the extensive biodiversity and sustainability programmes that are already underway on site. A total of 7,000 trees have been planted along the walkway route.
The Minister also opened a new coffee shop at the facility and received a tour of the state-of-the-art complex.
The Minster then went to Digispace Claremorris to officially open the new Connected Hub.
Digispace Claremorris boasts cutting edge office, conference and kitchen facilities. The project received over €200,000 in funding through the Department of Rural and Community Development.
The facility has a range of affordable office space to rent with flexible, ‘easy in/easy out’ options for businesses and individuals. Its co-working spaces are available for hire on an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly basis to anyone who needs a desk space on a flexible basis.
Digispace is one of almost 300 digital hubs that have been on boarded onto the National Hub Network’s online platform, Connectedhubs.ie.
The key objective of the National Hub Network is to provide a shared infrastructure that will deliver real benefits, particularly for rural communities.
Speaking at the official opening of Digispace Claremorris, the Minister said:
“I’m delighted to be here in Claremorris for what is a great day of celebration, as we officially open your new state-of-the-art remote working facility. And isn’t the story behind this facility just extraordinary. To think that once upon time this building was actually home to a bacon factory! And now, it has been re-purposed into a digital hub that I have no doubt will serve communities here in Mayo for years to come.
“I want to take these old buildings, just like you did here in Claremorris, and repurpose them for 21st century use. Repurpose them into facilities that will provide opportunities for people of all ages. Opportunities for workers to realise their career potential within their own communities - without the need move to the likes of Galway, or Dublin to take up a job.”
The Minister then travelled to Balla, where she met with representatives of the local community group to hear about exciting proposals that have for development of the village.
The Minster’s next stop of the day was a visit to Castlebar Social Services Office, which received nearly €300,000 worth of LEADER funding to carry out refurbishment works.
These works included the installation of a lift, which was essential to enable all clients to access the two upper storeys of the historic building.
The office provides numerous services that are not available anywhere else in the area, including a centre of information to the elderly, an outreach Meals on Wheels service and meeting facilities for community and addiction support groups.
The Minister’s final stop on this visit to Mayo was Breaffy House Resort, where she gave the opening address at the Irish Shows Association Annual General Meeting and Dinner Dance.
Please see details of the projects visited as part of the Minister’s engagements in Mayo.
The Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence is already home to six pitches and a modern centre with gym, analysis, catering, and conferencing facilities. In 2019 they enhanced their provision through the addition of the world’s largest sports Air Dome.
The 150 metre by 100 metre, six-storey high Dome houses a full-sized GAA pitch, running track, and gym and well as flexible office space. It is truly a transformative addition to sports facilities on the island of Ireland.
The project since its inception in 2008 has continually built year on year to what it is today. The various programs now step beyond just Gaelic games and it education programs with the addition of health programmes, biodiversity and sustainability programmes delivering best practice, education and leadership in the broader community.
Connacht GAA is the technology centre and mentor to all clubs and county grounds nationally, its role is central to the new Green Clubs program. The Green Club Programme is a partnership between the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association and local authorities across Ireland. This partnership has its origins in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Champions Programme launched by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment in September 2019.
The Castlebar Social Services (CSS) organisation offers a 365 day service and is the only community building in the centre of Castlebar offering a wide and varied range of facilities to the town and surrounding community.
The project was undertaken to facilitate the present building constructed in the 1800s to be accessible. The construction of a new entrance lobby area with the inclusion of a lift will enable all three floors to be accessible. The new construction increased the building size by an additional 161 square metres.
This facilitated those unable to access the upper floors the opportunity to engage in the various activities, which will in turn, increase the revenue.
The project has been very successful enabling Castlebar Social Services to utilise all their building. They are now providing space for Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland, Empowering Children in Care and Local Link Transport services. Their services are available from 5am to 12pm. While they provide over 120 meals a day during COVID-19 they provided over 300 with addition services in delivering medical and other supplies. They are now operating to full capacity with addition day care services facilitated by their refurbishment.
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 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.
The LEADER programme accepts applications based on projects which improve:
The LEADER programme is administered at a local level by 29 local action groups, which contain local representatives from the community, public and private sector. Each group is responsible for selecting and awarding LEADER funding to projects within their geographical area.
A project must be aligned with the priorities of the local development strategy. €250 million has been made available for LEADER for the period 2021 to 2027. This is comprised of €70 million for the transitional period 2021 to 2022 which came into effect on 1 April 2021 and an additional €180 million from 2023 to 2027.
One of the commitments provided in the five-year Our Rural Future policy is to establish a comprehensive and integrated national network of 400 Remote Working Hubs over the lifetime of the policy (to include a central booking platform for Connected Hub users).
The online platform was launched in May 2021 with 60 hubs onboarded to the platform. This has grown substantially and is expected to exceed 300 hubs by the end of 2022.