Galway Bay FM Newsroom - Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, has announced substantial funding for Galway's forest amenities.
The funding, which comes to €129,000, is part of €1.2 Million announced by the minister to support recreation facilities and outdoor tourism in forest parks and other Coillte sites.
The overall investment includes the upgrades of pathways, trails, access roads, boardwalks, carparks and toilet facilities at 33 Coillte sites nationwide.
This additional funding means that the Department of Rural and Community Development will be investing €3.2 million in total in outdoor recreation facilities at Coillte sites this year.
The projects in Galway that will receive funding are in Ballygar where €7,000 will be provided to replace the footbridge in Aghrane (Aw-Gran)/Ballygar and the new trail, €22,000 to upgrade the car park in Derroura (Der-Ura), €15,000 for the full resurfacing of the old trails at new Village, €5,000 to upgrade the car park and access area in Ross and €80,000 to carry out major boardwalk repair including a new trail layout on Western Way.
The minister announced the funding during a visit to Rossmore Forest Park in Monaghan and during that visit, the Minister also announced the publication of a report outlining the activities funded by her Department and delivered by Coillte in 2020, as part of a five-year strategic partnership to improve outdoor recreation facilities.
Between March and December of last year, some 2.2 million people visited the top 50 Coillte forests.
The report is available in full on the Department website.
