Five new counties are to be included in a major extension of one of the most successful rural development schemes operated in the State, known as Clár.
The expansion announced yesterday will increase the estimated number of people benefiting from the scheme by 50 per cent.
The new counties with areas to be included in the programme for the first time are Wicklow, Carlow, Laois, Kilkenny and Offaly.
Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Éamon Ó Cuív said the Government's decision to expand the Clár (Ceantair Laga Árd-Riachtanais) programme in most of the existing Clár areas would introduce it into a further five counties.
Clár schemes cover a wide variety of developments such as village, housing and school enhancement, electricity conversion, roads, water supply, sewage disposal, health, coastal, sports and community projects. The expansion means that more than 727,000 people can now benefit, up from the original 362,000.
The scheme, which was introduced in October 2001 as a targeted investment programme for rural areas that suffered more than a 50 per cent drop in population since the foundation of the State, has seen more than €51 million spent on projects since then.
The extended Clár programme is now to be based on the average drop in population of 35 per cent per county between 1926 and 2002, Mr Ó Cuív said.
Towns of 3,000 and over and their peri-urban areas have been excluded, irrespective of county decline in population. The new areas are either contiguous to existing Clár areas or have a minimum population of 1,000.
The original Clár areas announced in 2001 were parts of Cavan, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford and Westmeath, and all of Co Leitrim.
The proposed number of electoral divisions to be included will increase by 729 to 1,614 and the number of counties involved rises from 18 to 23.
Mr Ó Cuív said that provision for the programme was increased by approximately €9 million in this year's revised Estimates, bringing the total Clár fund for 2006 to €22.95 million.
"Funds of €51.335 million were spent by the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs on the various Clár measures from 2002-March 2006 with a further €20.67 million still to be drawn down.
"This spending leveraged funds of approximately €55.399 million, with a further €24.247 million still to be drawn down,bringing the total funding spent in Clár areas to €151.66 million."
Clár funding operates in three ways: direct funding from Clár, by top-ups or by co-funding with Government departments, State agencies, local authorities and the communities themselves.
Rural communities are helped to achieve access to a range of essential services.