€9 Million Delivered to Ireland.

Some of Ireland’s most cutting edge and innovative projects have received considerable EU backing. Last week in Cardiff the executive of the Northern and Western Regional Assembly (NWRA), secured over €9M in Project Funding for Irish Partners through the Atlantic Area Programme.  The NWRA are the Irish National Contact Point for the INTERREG Atlantic Area Programme and promote, support and assist projects with Irish interest in the application and delivery of their transnational projects.

INTERREG Atlantic Area is a European funding programme that promotes transnational cooperation among five European countries (Spain, Portugal, UK, France and Ireland).  This programme supports projects in the fields of Innovation & Competitiveness, Resource Efficiency, Territorial Risks Management, Biodiversity and Natural & Cultural Assets.

“We are delighted to announce over €9M funding for 39 different Irish Partners has been secured, partners such as Donegal Co Co, Sligo Co Co, ERNACT, NUIG, and Údarás na Gaeltachta, all key actors helping to shape our region’s future, will be in receipt of this much needed investment” Brendan Mooney EU Programmes Executive NWRA

One of the projects Mooney was keen to highlight that received funding is called “TrailGlazers” a €2M project led by Donegal County Council.  TrailGlazers will explore how new technologies such as Go Pro cameras, Drones and Talking Heads can be used to showcase trails to Atlantic tourist visitors via virtual experiences. By sharing experiences and knowledge, the project will develop Destination Management Plans to preserve natural and cultural assets for future generations. The project will also impact on policy makers with a framework that identifies the required levels of investment, programming and management required to assist trails to become more economically and socially driven, thus increasing and attracting more visitors to the Atlantic regions.