Cape Clear and Clonakilty will receive two new emergency response vehicles funded by the government.
€90,000 has been granted to Cape Clear (Comharchumann Oilean Chléire), which was close to facing a healthcare crisis due to a lack of full-time nursing cover, reported in The Southern Star.
Another €50,000 will go to Clonakilty Red Cross for a new ambulance. Both vehicles got the funding through Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht Dara Calleary’s nationwide Clár fund.
Minister of State and Cork South West TD Christopher O'Sullivan (FF) said: “These supports are incredibly important for these vital service providers and the communities they serve.
“Comharchumann Oilean Chléire is extremely important. We’re continuing to seek proper public health nurse cover for Cape Clear, but in the meantime this is a significant investment for the island.”
Congratulating both, he added: “The Clonakilty Red Cross are absolutely amazing. They deserve this support. They’re at everything - every festival, every event, ensuring people are safe and well.”
Today, Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary TD, announced €2.5 million to deliver 44 vehicles as part of the Clár programme.
The funding will go towards vehicles for community first responders, search and rescue organisations and groups that provide meals on wheels.
Minister Calleary said: “The Clár programme is an essential funding source for many communities across Ireland and this is the first allocation since I expanded the designated areas.”
The Minister added that, for the first time in the history of the programme, over one million people in parts of Ireland are eligible to apply for this important funding.
The Clár programme funds small-scale infrastructure projects in designated rural areas through a range of different measures.
