70. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the funding available for community groups seeking to construct capital facilities, such as community centres, pavilions, and so on; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26263/25]

Sentiment score: 0.01

As the Minister knows, Ballincollig, which is in my constituency, won the Tidy Towns competition in 2024. It involved a huge contribution from the community over many years. A really strong community spirit has been created. The problem I now have in my constituency in places like Blarney and Glanmire which have had huge population increases is that we have not set aside facilities to be developed for the community. Glanmire, which has a population of more than 20,000, has no real community facility. I know we will work with the local authority on it but this is something that needs to be prioritised in growing areas. In Blarney, the proposal is for 2,500 more houses to be built. Planning was granted for the first tranche of 270 houses in the past two weeks. The planning for community facilities also needs to be put in place. In my home parish of Innishcarra, there are 50 acres of community facilities. The GAA, the camogie club and the rugby club all have their own grounds in the centre of the community, all in one piece. The Minister should visit to see how a community can work. I am concerned that in areas where there is huge growth in population we are not planning for it. The Department needs to look at this issue very carefully.

Sentiment score: 0.21

I acknowledge that Department officials work really hard and are getting good value for the money that is allocated. When money is allocated to a community group, it will raise a whole lot more money itself to develop and grow the facilities. My big concerns centres around the areas where there is a huge increase in housing. The Minister talked about the allocation in Blarney, which is very welcome. The money has been well looked after and well spent there in developing the facilities. In the future, 2,500 more houses will built there. It is about making sure we have clearly marked out where we are going to put additional community facilities. Likewise in Glanmire, 30 acres was given to the FAI more than 12 years ago and it is still lying idle. We need to bring that into use and do major development for the town. The GAA club in Glammire does not have the capacity to take the huge number of young people who want to join the club. The club is finding it very challenging to cater for everyone because of the growth in the area. The issue of 30 acres lying idle needs to be resolved.

Sentiment score: 0.25

Another place the Minister should visit the next time he is in Cork is the Glen Resource Centre. I was involved a long time ago in getting funding from Europe to start the centre. There are now more than 80 organisations using it. This is because of the contribution of the local community in developing and growing it. It is an important facility in an area where there was a lot of local authority housing and we would not have been able to raise funding. We got the funding from Europe under a capital programme to develop the centre. We need to look at inner-city areas as well because they do not necessarily have the funding. It is about making sure that they are not left behind. The Minister should visit the Glen Resource Centre to see how a community working with the local authority and the Government can develop a very good facility.

Sentiment score: 0.18