PRESS RELEASE - €138,550 AWARDED UNDER OFFALY COMMUNITY ENHANCEMENT PROGRAMME 2021
Offaly County Council is delighted to announce that funding totalling €138,550 was approved by its Local and Community Development Committee (LCDC) on Thursday 8th July 2021. The funding was awarded to 125 community groups under the Community Enhancement Programme 2021.
Cathaoirleach of Offaly County Council and Chair of Offaly LCDC, Councillor Declan Harvey, welcomed the funding which is being provided to deliver vital services for vulnerable communities such as enabling community centres to be upgraded or to reopen, purchase of digital equipment to deliver remote training or counselling, and assisting community, sporting, and environmental groups to become more active as more Covid restrictions are lifted. He also remarked on the fact that the successful projects were incredibly wide-ranging, from structural upgrade works and provision of equipment in community facilities to provision of sporting, heritage, and environmental enhancements, to supports for all ages from preschool to active retirement groups.
Chief Executive of Offaly County Council, Anna Marie Delaney, congratulated all of the successful applicants and thanked them for the outstanding work they do on a voluntary basis to enhance their communities.
"The funding will be of enormous benefit to the many community groups across the county who have been struggling to fundraise during the past year of the Covid pandemic. In many cases, the funding granted will enable the recipient group to access even greater amounts of funding through applications to LEADER, the Just Transition Fund, or other funding programmes."
There was a tremendous response to the Programme, with 141 applicants seeking funding. This is the fourth year that this funding has been provided by the Department of Rural and Community Development.
The Community Enhancement Programme (CEP) is funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development. Please see the following link for a press release on the launch of the CEP at national level by the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, and the Minister of State with responsibility for Community Development and Charities, Joe O’Brien TD: https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/df30e-ministers-humphreys-and-obrien-announce-45-million-to-improve-community-facilities/
A full list of the successful groups in receipt of Community Enhancement Programme funding is available here.
