Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, has officially opened a number of projects across Roscommon which have received funding of €7.5 million from her Department with €2.95 million allocated to South Roscommon.
All of the projects opened as part of the Minister’s visit received investment under the Government’s ambitious rural development policy, Our Rural Future.
Minister Humphreys began the day on the Roscommon side of Athlone, where she officially opened Monksland Way, a recreation walkway which details the heritage of the area. The project received €200,000 in funding under the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme.
Speaking at Monksland Way, Minister Humphreys said:
“The community here in Monksland have done a tremendous job in developing this new walkway which will be used by people of all ages. This is an excellent example of what can be achieved when people work collaboratively for the benefit of the wider community.
“This type of investment, through the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme, is central to what ‘Our Rural Future’ is all about.”
The Minister then went on to visit the site of the Life Sciences Hub Project, which received over €2.75 million under the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund. The project is due to be completed next year and involves the repurposing of a disused building into a life sciences and co-working hub.
The Minister then officially opened the Portrunny Harbour Upgrade, which received a total of €250,000 in funding, €200,000 under the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme and €50,000 under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme.
Speaking at the official opening, the Minister commented:
“If we learned one thing during Covid-19, it’s how much we appreciate the great outdoors in terms of supporting both our physical and mental well-be
The Minster then visited Athleague to view the works carried out with the €300,000 investment under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme and CLÁR. The funding provided for the development of a community and economic action plan as well as the development of a ‘hot desk’ facility in the local community centre and for the purchase of equipment to facilitate outdoor activities in the village.
The Minister then went on to Roscommon Town, where she officially opened Loughnaneane Park which received funding of €340,000 from her Department.
Minister Humphreys stopped off in Castlerea to turn the sod at the An Chistín Food Hub to commence phase two of the development of a new food innovation hub that will be used by start-up businesses and for training purposes. The new hub will produce ten new food enterprises and create at least 50 new jobs. The project was allocated funding of over €2.4 million under the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund.
The Minister’s final stop on this visit to Roscommon was to Boyle where she officially opened an exhibition at King House which received over €2 million in funding under the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund.
Speaking about her visit to Roscommon today, the Minister said:
“I was really delighted to be back in Roscommon. It was exactly one year ago for the sod turning on the National Famine Museum in Strokestown which was a really wonderful day.
“The projects that I visited today received an overall investment of over €7.5 million. Supporting local communities to shape their future is a key focus of the Government’s new Rural Development Policy, Our Rural Future”, concluded the Minister.