'Emphasis on natural play areas,' funding granted for Mulcahy Park Playground in Clonmel

Tipperary TD Michael Lowry has welcomed the announcement by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth that €15,576 has been allocated for the upgrading of Mulcahy Park Playground in Clonmel. 

The purpose of the Play and Recreation Capital Funding Scheme is to support refurbishment of play and recreation amenities for children and young people, to include the provision of new equipment, the refurbishment of existing play facilities, all with an emphasis on natural play areas.

The application process was open to all local authorities, each local authority could apply for one project.

There was flexibility in special circumstances for a local authority to apply for more than one project if requested, with funding being capped at €18k for each local authority.

The awarding of this funding is contingent on the local authority co-funding each successful project with 25% of the funding allocated.

Eligible applications were evaluated by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth via a weighted scoring system; each of the 5 qualifying criteria was assessed and scored individually and the total project score was an aggregate of the criteria scores.

A key criteria of the scheme is that proposed projects must be accessible and inclusive for all children. Other criteria measured included the added value of each project to young people and assurances regarding the safety of facilities comprising the proposed projects.