8th May 2009
Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, Green Party member of Passage West Town Council and candidate for the Carrigaline electoral area of Cork County Council, has urged environmental activists in South Cork to apply for EU funding to support projects on nature conservation and education. €1.7 billion will be provided by the EU in a programme designed to educate people on environmental matters.
Cllr. Donnelly said: “This is a golden opportunity to progress projects promoting environmental conservation and education. Some possible projects that could benefit from this funding are the development of a wildlife interpretive centre at Harper’s Island in the upper reaches of Cork Harbour, near Glouthaune, or the further enhancement of the Green Schools Project in schools in South Cork, or the expansion of National Tree Week to encourage the further planting of trees and the conservation of existing woodlands.”
“I am available to help any groups with their funding applications, and I will be working directly with a number of groups directly to help them receive the funding they deserve. This is great news for South Cork, but we must get our thinking caps on, get the ideas together and make sure the applications are done properly,” concluded Cllr. Donnelly.
Further Information: The following information is from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
The EU LIFE+ Programme 2007-2013 is a dedicated EU funding programme for environmental projects. Covering the period 2007-2013, Life+ will provide €1.7 billion for co-funded projects across the EU which are linked to nature conservation, environmental technology and the communication of environmental matters.
The European Commission is expected to issue its third annual call for proposals under the Life+ programme on 15 May 2009. The call will include full details and conditions regarding the submission of applications the closing date for which is expected to be 5 September 2009. Guidelines and applications forms for the 2009 Call will be available from 15 May 2009 at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/funding/lifeplus.htm
In order to assist potential applicants, an information workshop, conducted by the EU Commission, will be held in the offices of the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Custom House, Dublin 1 on 29th May 2009. Persons wishing to attend the workshop should contact: Brian Earley at Brian_Earley@environ.ie as soon as possible as places may be limited. Further information on the implementation of the LIFE+ Programme in Ireland is available at http://www.environ.ie/en/Environment/SustainableDevelopment
Dominick Donnelly 