Minister Heather Humphreys has announced the first ever dedicated fund for shovel-ready community projects in towns and villages
Grants of up to €6m are available for state-of-the-art facilities in nine counties. Minister Humphreys emphasised the importance of bringing all ages together with €75m provided under community centre investment funding to date and investment of over €30m announced for 12 new community centres nationwide to cater to sporting, educational, and social needs and promote community engagement and inclusivity.
Minister Heather Humphreys said “through ‘Our Rural Future’, I want to support locally led, ground-up projects in local communities across the country. This funding is all about giving a helping hand to our local groups as they serve their communities with such dedication and generosity. I am always struck by the immense pride communities have in their locality. The community centre is a safe, positive and accessible space for all manner of community activities and I want to ensure that community centres continue to remain a hive of activity. I want to congratulate the successful projects and to thank them for the vital work they do in providing services in their local communities. This funding will deliver high quality community facilities that will bring benefits to these communities for many years to come. When I launched this fund last year with a €20m allocation, I expected to approve five or six projects. Taking account of the quality of the applications and the identified needs, I am today approving funding for 12 of the applications received with funding of over €30m. This funding will assist community groups striving to build their own community centre to service local needs and the level of interest has shown that these centres, when complete, will be the heart of many a community. These projects are all on brown or green field sites and have all the necessary planning and consents secured so they are already at an advanced stage and ready to commence following a tender process. This Fund targets areas without an appropriate facility to meet their community’s needs. The centres range in size from single storey to two-storey buildings and will be located in rural and urban settings across nine counties.
