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Project Ireland 2040 is our plan for the future of Ireland. Highlights for Sligo include:

  • Sligo Western Distributor road: This will provide access to a new IDA Business Park at Oakfield, Sligo. The project has planning and it is expected that construction will commence in 2018 and be completed in 2020.
  • N4 Collooney to Castlebaldwin: The project will replace a section of the N4 between Dublin and Sligo to improve road safety.
  • Garavogue Bridge Scheme: This project will allow for the regeneration of eastern parts of Sligo Town and for the ongoing development of the region.
  • Sligo-Dublin Rail: the continued maintenance of the Sligo-Dublin rail route will help ensure high levels of service quality, accessibility and connectivity.
  • Health: the redevelopment of Sligo Hospital including a new acute mental health unit. Further investment projects in the North West include the development of primary care centres and the upgrading and replacement of community nursing units across the north western region.
  • Housing: We aim to deliver approximately 1,600 additional social homes in the North West region across the 2016-2021 period.
  • Technology University for the Connacht Ulster Alliance (CUA) consortium: Significant new buildings will be provided in Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT), Institute of Technology Sligo, and Letterkenny Institute of Technology, in their bid for TU status.
  • Rural Regeneration and Development Fund: Towns and villages with populations of up to 10,000 people, along with rural areas, can benefit from a new Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, worth €1bn nationally over ten years.
  • Sport Capital Programme: Communities and clubs across Sligo can bid for the over €100 million in capital funding under the Sport Capital Programme (SCP) over the next 4 years. Also, a new Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund of €100 million is being established for larger sports projects where the proposed Government contribution exceeds amounts available under the SCP.

Fine Gael is a party of aspiration, a party of enterprise, a party of opportunity, and a party of hope. These are our values and they guide our ambition for this country.

We want to give hope to individuals and families, reward work and enterprise, encourage aspiration, and remove barriers to progress. We want the Republic that we founded to provide opportunities for all our people.

We believe a greater work-life balance and work-place flexibility must be better supported, particularly in the early years.

That is why we have brought forward measures such as Paternity Benefit. Since its introduction 391 fathers in Sligo have been awarded this payment.

We have also brought forward measures to make childcare more affordable such as full entitlement to a full two years of the free preschool programme and a universal childcare subsidy of up to €1,040 per year for children aged from 6 to 36 months.

Balanced regional development is at the heart of our planning. We will ensure that rural communities not only survive but thrive. We have appointed a Minister for Rural and Community Development and in early 2017 we launched the Action Plan for Rural Development.

In addition we invested €1,063,968 in Sligo to rejuvenate the town and villages in the county in 2017 and €7,655,647is being spent in Sligo between 2014 and 2020 through the LEADER Programme.

In addition, €496,158 has been invested in Sligo through the Local Improvement Scheme to support the improvement of non-public rural roads. Also, €6,638,537 has been spent on Regional and Local Roads while a further €9,589,739 was spent on National Roads in Sligo in 2017.

Life expectancy is increasing as is the average and median age. We believe that this is an opportunity for Ireland that should be embraced.

In March 2017 we increased the State Pension again, benefitting 9,102 pensioners in Sligo. Budget 2018 increased the State Pension by €5 per week, making a total increase of €13 per week over the last 3 Fine Gael budgets, and proportional increases for qualified adults and those on reduced rates of payment.

We will bolster the success created by Irish workers and enterprises by ensuring that all get fair reward for their efforts and for the risks they take.

Significant progress has been made already; we cut the USC again, increased the entry point for the higher rate of tax, increased the Earned Income Tax Credit, extended entitlement to the Treatment Benefit Scheme and increased the national minimum wage for the fourth time.

Our culture, heritage, language and sport define us as a people. They bring us together, are central to good physical and mental health, and give us great pride.

The Sports Capital Programme has transformed Ireland’s sporting landscape with improvements in the quality and quantity of sporting facilities. Under the 2017 round of the Sports Capital Programme €824,812 in funding has been secured for 29 sporting organisations across Sligo.

We are committed to ensuring that people feel safe in their homes, whether in our urban centres or the heart of rural Ireland.

Here in the Sligo/Leitrim Garda Division there is a currently 298 Gardaí on the beat and a Garda fleet consisting of 52 vehicles. We have a plan in place in place to achieve an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021.

We are also working to ensure that vulnerable older people feel safe in their communities. Under the Senior Alerts Scheme 355 people have received a personal monitored alarm in Sligo since late 2015.

Since the launch of the Action Plan for Jobs in 2012 the number of persons on the Live Register in Sligo has declined by 37%.

Youth unemployment also continues to fall with a reduction of 52% of U-25s on the Live Register over the same period. As we approach full employment our focus is on high quality, secure job creation.