KERRY County Council has received over 400 applications to the 2020 Community Support Fund which is in line with the number of submissions made in recent years.
The closing date for the receipt of applications was Thursday last.
The 2020 Killarney Economic Conference at The Brehon, Killarney at the weekend heard that a key role and priority for the local authority is to strengthen communities and economies in urban and rural areas in Kerry.
The Chief Officer of the Local Community Development Committee at Kerry County Council, Niamh O’Sullivan, said the fund is often over-subscribed which shows the indication or need out there for small scale community support.
“Groups are constantly telling us that those small grants mean so much for them to enable them to continue their voluntary work on the ground. I don’t think anybody should underestimate the value of the smaller grants that we give to community groups,” she said.
On average, 350 groups benefit every year and, to date, Kerry County Council has invested over €4 million in community development initiatives across the county.
Niamh O’Sullivan was joined on the panel discussion on Rural Development by Green Party leader Eamon Ryan, Scottish Council for Development and Industry director Fraser Grieve, and Harper Adams University lecturer Dr Richard Byrne.
Ms O’Sullivan outlined how Kerry County Council manages various schemes aimed at empowering communities. The local authority has leveraged around €20 million to support rural development activities around the county.
“In addition to the funding, what’s really important is our role in empowering communities and animating them around project development and getting them to identify what their needs are,” she said.
“Then it’s our role to develop the plans and policy and to target the resources into addressing those needs,” said Ms O’Sullivan.
Economic, civic and political leaders from Ireland, the UK and Europe gathered at The Brehon in Killarney for the third annual Killarney Economic Conference sponsored by Kerry County Council and Mazars.
Pictures: Valerie O’Sullivan. Click on individual images for details
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