Kilternan has received €102,000 in funding under the Leader Programme – Josepha Madigan TD – Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht has announced.
She said: “I welcome the fact that two projects in Kilternan have been approved for funding to the tune of €102,600.
“This is great news for the area and will no doubt be welcomed by all. Kilternan Community Centre will receive €99,570 to go towards refurbishments, while Kilternan country market is getting €3,157 to help improve access to their premises. It’s great news for both.
“LEADER funding is helping to improve people’s quality of life and support livelihoods in communities throughout Ireland.
“LEADER is a developmental programme; it takes time for Local Action Groups to engage with local communities and identify projects that will make a difference locally.
“Once these projects have been identified, the impact of LEADER can be far-reaching and sustainable for local communities, as we can see here in Kilternan,” she said.
“The LEADER programme is the responsibility of the Department of Rural and Community development. My cabinet colleague Minister Michael Ring recently announced that over 1,000 LEADER projects have now been approved.”
The milestone marks a significant expansion of activity over the last 12 months since the Minister introduced a range of measures to make the programme work better for both potential applicants and for the LEADER Local Action Groups, which deliver the programme on the ground.
Minister Ring said: “This time last year, less than 50 projects had been approved. Over €29m has now been allocated through LEADER to support businesses and communities around Ireland.”
“In addition to the €29m committed to these 1,000 projects, there are a further 300 project applications going through the approval process for funding of about €20m.
“LEADER funding represents an enormous opportunity for rural businesses and communities that are in need of investment and I want to see the programme continuing to grow.”
