Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, has launched €3 million in projects in County Monaghan as part of a nationwide tour to promote Our Rural Future.
Our Rural Future is the Government’s new rural development strategy, which aims to revitalise towns and villages, promote remote working, and ensure balanced regional development.
The projects opened in Monaghan represent an investment of over €3 million by the Minister’s Department with significant additional match funding provided locally.
As part of the whistle-stop tour of the county, Minister Humphreys:
- Opened a new memorial garden in Oram in memory of ‘Big Tom’ McBride
- Visited the Castleblayney Enterprise Centre, which received over €2.6 million in funding under the Rural Regeneration Development Fund
- Opened the Billy Fox Memorial Park in Bawn
- Opened the new car park and lighting facilities at St Oliver Plunket National School in Lough Egish. She also visited Aughnammullen Community Centre.
Speaking at the opening of the Memorial Garden, Minister Humphreys said:
“It was a great privilege to be able to open the memorial garden in memory of Big Tom. I want to acknowledge the fantastic efforts by the local community in developing this wonderful amenity which will be a lovely place for family, friends and future generations in Oram to gather and remember Tom.”
Minister Humphreys also visited a series of other projects including:
- Ballybay Wetlands Recreation Hub, which received almost €168,000 under the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS).
- The Clones Loop section of the Kingfisher Cycle Trail, which received over €93,000 under the same scheme.
The Minister concluded her visit by launching the Clones Heritage and Economic Plan.
Speaking at the launch, the Minister said, “it is fantastic to see all the key stakeholders, who care deeply about the future development of Clones, working collaboratively to produce this strategy. That is exactly the type of approach that we need to see in Rural Ireland, particularly as we recover from Covid-19.”
“There is fantastic work happening in Clones at the moment from the regeneration of Fermanagh Street to the recently approved €13m in funding for the restoration of the Ulster Canal which my Department is also supporting. This strategy which is community-led, based on a bottom-up approach and underpinned by engagement with the public and the local business community will help to build on that strong progress in the town.”
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