Five Galway projects have been awarded €132,618 for local projects in the latest round of funding under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme.
The Department of Rural and Community Development recently announced that €3.3 million has been awarded to 106 towns and villages.
In Galway, the largest grant went to Connemara as a whole, where €36,000 has been allocated for
Clifden, Milltown, and Killimor have each been awarded €25,000 for their projects.
In Clifden the money will be used to create temporary street seating to help with social distancing, while Killimor intends to create a remote co-working space with high speed broadband.
Milltown has similar plans, with the funding to be used to repurpose part of the old school into a remote working facility.
The final allocation in Galway is €21,618 for Mountbellew to install outdoor electrical connections in the square for outdoors events, including lighting up the Christmas tree.
Galway East TD Seán Canney welcomed the inclusion of Milltown and Killimor in the scheme, saying, “COVID-19 has clearly demonstrated the importance of remote working.”
“These two projects when completed will provide the facility for people to work remotely and rejuvenate the village by locating jobs in these villages.”
The latest round of the Town and Village Renewal scheme has focused on projects that help towns and villages adapt to COVID-19.
These can include measure to aid social distancing requirements and to provide safe environments that encourage people into towns and villages to shop and socialise.
“The challenges of recent months have highlighted the central role that our towns and villages play in the lives of people in rural areas.”
“They are where we live, work, shop and socialise,” Minister Heather Humphreys said, announcing the funding.
“It is important that we make our towns and villages as welcoming as possible and that we provide the infrastructure to allow people to engage with local shops and services, and with each other, in a safe manner at this time.”
