Three Laois schools to get €115k for road safety and sport

Three rural Laois primary schools have been successful in getting grants totalling €115,200 for safety and sport improvements.

Paddock National School will receive €45,000 in CLÁR funding to develop a carpark.

Ballyfin National School is to get €40,500 to install road safety measures. These include speed safety signs, the upgrade of road markings and public lighting.

Camross NS has been awarded a grant of €29,700 to supply and install ball stopping nets and goal posts.

The money is granted under Measures 1 and 2 of the Government’s CLÁR Programme, which funds small infrastructural projects in rural areas that have suffered high levels of rural depopulation.

Laois/Offaly TD and Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan, welcomed the funding for the three Laois schools.

“The CLÁR funding announced by the Government will support safety measures and play areas for schools and communities in Laois,” he said.

“The CLÁR programme is a great scheme to help make our communities better places to live, work and raise families.

“Schools and community groups work alongside Laois County Council to put forward these initiatives and the CLÁR funding is then crucial to getting the projects over the line,” Minister Flanagan said.

The Minister for Rural and Community Development Michael Ring has allocated a total of €3.8 million for rural schools and communities across the country in this round of the CLÁR funding.

Measure 3 funding was also announced in July which gives grants to community first responder groups such as the Red Cross, and to cancer care transport groups. Grants totalling some €1.5 million were awarded to groups across Ireland.

No Laois groups were granted funding under these categories.