Departmental Programmes
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-14
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Dara Calleary (FF), Mayo

I thank the Deputy for his question about CLÁR. As he knows, CLÁR provides funding under a number of different measures for small-scale infrastructural projects in designated rural areas. The programme is investing in community facilities and amenities, including community centres, MUGAs, playgrounds, walking tracks and sensory gardens. The scheme also funds vehicles for community groups providing vital services such as community first responders, meals on wheels groups, and transport for people with reduced mobility. There is also a measure providing targeted supports to our island communities. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I launched the 2026 CLÁR programme in March and we expect to announce all successful projects before the end of the year. The 2025 programme for Government made a commitment to carry out a comprehensive review of all eligible CLÁR areas. Following this review, an additional 110 electoral divisions, EDs, have been designated as eligible under CLÁR. This means that there are now over 1,700 CLÁR EDs across the country. For the first time, the total population living in CLÁR-designated areas is over 1 million. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I are acutely aware of the importance of this programme to some of our most rural areas. I was delighted to be in a position to bring more areas into the programme. To prepare the way for this expansion, I secured a €1 million increase in the budget for CLÁR in 2026 to bring the level available to €12 million. Funding for CLÁR has increased from €5 million in 2020 to its current allocation of €12 million. We are reviewing the budget for CLÁR as part of the budget 2027 process. We are engaging with ministerial colleagues across the Department of public expenditure on this. I absolutely share the Deputy's interest in CLÁR. We have prioritised it in terms of a quadrupling of the funding since 2020, and I want to continue to increase that level of funding.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-14/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:08+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-14