€100,000 set to upgrade Wicklow park and support older people
In June 2025, a total of nine community projects, amounting to €905,535. This past Wednesday, the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht announced the approval of two additional Wicklow projects under phase 3 of the fund, bringing the total funding for phase 3 to €1,005,535.
County Wicklow Partnership CLG has received €50,000 for its Wicklow Older Persons Support Programme in Arklow town and rural south Wicklow, while the Rathdrum Development Association has been allocated €50,000 to complete phase 2 of an upgrade to the Parnell National Memorial Park in Rathdrum.
Although delighted with the €43,700 allocated to the Rathdrum Development Association on June 5 to upgrade the paths around the Parnell Memorial Park and install solar lighting, local councillor Pat Kennedy said that, although funding was very much welcomed, 'it was never going to be enough to cover the full cost of the project'.
'We have secured an additional €50,000, bringing the total to €93,700 for the project and allowing us to fully upgrade all of the paths and install all of the lighting,' he said.
'I want to thank the people from the Rathdrum Development Association and Wicklow County Council (WCC) who worked closely with me to secure both rounds of funding.'
Welcoming the announcement, WCC cathaoirleach, councillor Melanie Corrigan, stated: 'This funding will make a significant difference to the local communities in providing improved facilities and additional services to the communities in Rathdrum and Arklow town and rural south Wicklow'.
WCC deputy chief executive Michael Nicholson added: 'This investment acknowledges and recognises the efforts made by our towns and villages in welcoming new arrivals to their communities in recent years. This funding will assist our communities in continuing their excellent work for the benefit of all.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Irish Independent
€100,000 set to upgrade Wicklow park and support older people
In August 2024, Wicklow was allocated €694,300 for seven community projects as part of the first phase of funding under the fund, which aims to support the development of facilities and infrastructure for communities in recognition of their efforts in welcoming many new arrivals to their cities, towns and villages in recent years. In June 2025, a total of nine community projects, amounting to €905,535. This past Wednesday, the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht announced the approval of two additional Wicklow projects under phase 3 of the fund, bringing the total funding for phase 3 to €1,005,535. County Wicklow Partnership CLG has received €50,000 for its Wicklow Older Persons Support Programme in Arklow town and rural south Wicklow, while the Rathdrum Development Association has been allocated €50,000 to complete phase 2 of an upgrade to the Parnell National Memorial Park in Rathdrum. Although delighted with the €43,700 allocated to the Rathdrum Development Association on June 5 to upgrade the paths around the Parnell Memorial Park and install solar lighting, local councillor Pat Kennedy said that, although funding was very much welcomed, 'it was never going to be enough to cover the full cost of the project'. 'We have secured an additional €50,000, bringing the total to €93,700 for the project and allowing us to fully upgrade all of the paths and install all of the lighting,' he said. 'I want to thank the people from the Rathdrum Development Association and Wicklow County Council (WCC) who worked closely with me to secure both rounds of funding.' Welcoming the announcement, WCC cathaoirleach, councillor Melanie Corrigan, stated: 'This funding will make a significant difference to the local communities in providing improved facilities and additional services to the communities in Rathdrum and Arklow town and rural south Wicklow'. WCC deputy chief executive Michael Nicholson added: 'This investment acknowledges and recognises the efforts made by our towns and villages in welcoming new arrivals to their communities in recent years. This funding will assist our communities in continuing their excellent work for the benefit of all.'
Agriland
3 days ago
- Agriland
Minister questioned over plans for Irish language food labels
People Before Profit-Solidarity TD, Richard Boyd Barrett has questioned the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill about the use of the Irish language on food and drink labels. In a series of parliamentary questions this month (July 2025), Deputy Boyd Barrett claimed the minister was deflecting responsibility for bilngual food and drink labelling to the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht. He believes that minister should use her department's legislative authority over the Food Information to Consumers (FIC) Regulation to act, and asked if she accepts that "this amounts to a deliberate political evasion" of the state's obligations under the constitution. The minister for health acknowledged that her department has responsibility for food safety legislation, including an EU regulation on the provision of food information to consumers. She outlined that that this regulation provides that mandatory food information shall appear in a language "easily understood" by consumers, and that EU member states may require that the information be given in one or more languages from among the official languages of the EU. Minister Carroll MacNeill said that when transposing the language requirements of the EU regulation, and in light of the Official Languages Act 2003, flexibility was provided to ensure that food placed on the market in Ireland can be accompanied by mandatory food information in either English, or Irish and English. She said: "Flexibility was necessary to ensure that the legislation was not creating barriers to trade and that the burden placed on businesses, including micro, small and medium enterprises was not disproportionate. "The 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010–2030, for which the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht has responsibility, includes a commitment for government to examine the feasibility of introducing a voluntary code for bilingual labelling and packaging of all goods sold in Ireland." "The flexibilities provided for in (the regulation) ensure that any such voluntary code, as it would relate to food information, will not contravene the mandatory information requirements of the EU FIC Regulation," the minister added. Minister Carroll MacNeill said that the Department of Health "will be happy to assist" the Department of Rural and Community Affairs and the Gaeltacht in progressing the code. In 2022, an FIC interdepartmental group was established in direct response to the EU Commission's 2020 proposal to amend certain aspects of the FIC regulation, which did not include language provisions. Minister Carroll MacNeill has responsibility for the FIC regulation, and says that she currently has no plans to convene a group to examine the language provisions of the regulation.
Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Irish Independent
Wexford County Council rejects call to sever ties with companies ‘involved in breaching human rights'
In light of the ongoing conflicts in Palestine and Ukraine, Councillor Forde asked that the council no longer do business with companies 'complicit in human rights abuses' and 'ensure that human rights obligations are properly acknowledged, observed and respected at all stages of the procurement process." However, Cllr Forde's motion was rejected out of hand with the council executive stating it 'operates its procurement activities in line with all relevant legislation, regulations, guidelines and its own public procurement policy and procedures'. 'WCC is committed to the promotion of the use of environmental and social considerations in public procurement, this is further strengthened in WCC's corporate procurement plan,' it added. 'Any proposed ethical procurement policy would have to align with the EU treaty principles of transparency, equal treatment, mutual recognition, proportionality, and non-discrimination.' After the meeting, Cllr Forde expressed his disappointment that his motion was rejected, noting that the same motion had been passed in 13 other councils across the country. "The purpose of this initiative is to ethically advance how councils across Ireland tender and who they are affiliated to in accordance with international law obligations," he said. "This motion has already been passed by 13 councils. It is something that could have been easily achieved here in Wexford. We should be no different in this sense and we should be pushing for more. "Efforts to introduce such a policy have been quickly dismissed as being controlled by Europe and government and because of the potential to bring legal challenges, but I don't believe that is the case." Asking that his motion be reconsidered, Cllr Forde said the adoption of an EPP would ensure the council does not 'financially aid businesses and companies investing, practicing or complicit in human rights abuses when tendering." "We are living in an ever-changing world and we should be holding ourselves and human rights violators to the highest ethical standards," he added.
