EUR140k To Support Refurbishment Works In Ennis RAPID Areas

Ireland (SANEPR.com) September 29, 2008 -- Details of the Scheme were unveiled by Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Éamon Ó Cuív TD, who confirmed that his Department would make EUR9.2m available to RAPID areas annually over the next 5 years.

The new scheme replaces the Local Authority Housing Estate Enhancement and Traffic Measures Schemes, which are being discontinued.

Minister of State Killeen said the money allocated to Ennis RAPID would be used to support locally identified small-scale capital works in local authority housing estates, civic and open spaces, and locations that have become neglected or in need of rehabilitation.

‘According to guidelines issued under the new scheme, the design of each local scheme should be based on making the optimal use of open space, improving the general environmental condition for RAPID communities, addressing issues of poor design and accessibility and improving public safety and accessibility’, he added.

The RAPID Physical Environment Improvement Scheme will cover the period 2009 to 2013 inclusive and will consist of five annual cycles, incorporating an application and claim process for each year of operation. This is to afford communities the flexibility to produce 5-year plans.

All contributions by the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs will be matched by local authority funding on a EUR1 to EUR 1 basis. Annual funding totalling EUR 9.2m will be provided for works under this scheme, EUR 4.6m from the RAPID leverage fund and EUR 4.6m from the relevant local authority.

According to Minister Killeen, ‘An innovation in this new scheme is that allocations to each RAPID area will relate to the population and deprivation of the area rather than each area getting the same allocation as has been the practice to date. This change will result in a more focussed targeting of funds to the larger, more deprived areas, while ensuring that smaller areas maintain a significant level of funding.’

The RAPID (Revitalising Areas by Planning, Investment and Development) Programme is a focussed Government initiative to target the 46 most disadvantaged areas in the country.

The Programme aims to ensure that priority attention is given to tackling the spatial concentration of poverty and social exclusion within the 46 designated areas through targeting state resources, available under the National Development Plan. The Programme also calls on Government Departments and State Agencies to bring about better co-ordination and closer integration in the delivery of services. There are two Strands of the Programme - Strand I targets 26 urban areas, while Strand II targets 20 provincial towns around the country.

-ENDS-

Notes to Editor:
- Tony Killeen T.D., Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (with special responsibility for Fisheries and Forestry), is available for interview and further comment on 0035387-2525304. Alternatively please contact Mark Dunphy of Dunphy Public Relations on 00353868534900 or media@dunphypr.com
- High-resolution images of Minister Killeen are available on request

Mark Dunphy
Dunphy Public Relations
www.dunphypr.com
media@dunphypr.com
00353-868534900