• Funding for vehicles to provide essential transport for those with mobility issues and cancer care patients
  • Other vehicles to support sea and cliff rescue services and sub aqua search and rescue servic

The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, has recently announced over €2 million in funding which will allow community groups to purchase vehicles designed to transport people who have mobility issues or people being treated for cancer.

Community groups that perform roles such as transporting blood samples from hospitals and delivering medication will also be supported under the initiative. So too will Mountain Rescue Teams and Sub-Aqua Groups.

Overall, Minister Humphreys announced €2,026,853 under Measure 2 of the CLÁR Programme – supporting the purchase of a record 37 vehicles in rural communities.

Some of the projects being supported in Cork include:

  • Cork Cancer Connect – 8 seater vehicle – €50,000
  • Conna Community Housing for the elderly association CLG – Electric car – €49,800
  • Cork Irish Red Cross – One panel van based ambulance – €50,000

Announcing the successful projects, Minister Humphreys said “It is wonderful to be supporting these vital services in our community. Each of the recipients of funding today play a critical role providing essential services to members of the public who are most in need, including by bringing them free of charge, to cancer treatment and to day care centres.

“They also provide essential transport services for blood samples and medication and, equally important, delivering search and rescue services. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to these organisations and the individuals who work with them and it is my great pleasure to support them through this investment.”

North Cork Fine Gael Councillor John Paul O’Shea said “This year, 37 organisations have been successful under this Measure – the highest number of projects to date, with three successful projects for Cork. The total funding provided to Mobility, Cancer Care and Community First Responders to close to €8 Million since 2018. In that period over 155 projects have been delivered.”

The measures being funded under the 2023 CLÁR programme are:

Measure 1: Developing Community Facilities and Amenities
Measure 2: Mobility, Cancer Care and Community First Responders Transport
Measure 3: Our Islands
Details of the successful projects can be found here: