Rural Schemes
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-26
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Jerry Buttimer (FG), Cork South-Central

We as a Department and Government are committed to funding and working on a variety of schemes, whether through the community central investment fund which the Minister, Deputy Calleary is announcing a call later today on, or as we have done in the past, with the community recognition fund. The Deputy referenced the issue of the playground. We have the very proactive outdoor recreation investment scheme as well as the town and village renewal scheme and the rural regeneration and development fund. We work as a Department with Cork County Council but also with Avondhu Blackwater and the SICAP in developing the piece the Deputy referenced.
The key point for us is that it is about ensuring the allocation of funding delivers. Last year we provided almost €12 million in financial support for Cork and I can give the examples of MyPlace Midleton and the Cork Cloyne Diocesan youth services, and I can quote a myriad of other examples as the Deputy knows quite well.
His point is that we must ensure that at the very heart of what we do is people, place and giving people that sense of buy-in to their local community. It is about ensuring we work collaboratively to develop not just housing estates, which are very important and necessary, but a community where people can put down roots. We can have the piece the Deputy referenced coming off that as well.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:47+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-26