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The Department of Community Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs are in the process of launching the 5 new RAPID areas of Ballina, Dungarvan, Enniscorthy, Mullingar and Rathkeale.
RAPID (Revitalising Areas by Planning, Investment and Development) is a focused Government initiative to target the 51 most disadvantaged urban areas and provincial towns in the country. The implementation of the RAPID programme is led by the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. Pobal coordinates programme implementation on behalf of the department.
Strand 1 was launched in 25 urban areas in February 2001 and Strand 2 was extended to 20 provincial towns in February 2002. Ballyfermot was added on 29th June 2006. In late 2009, following an independent review of the findings from the 2006 Census returns five new areas were launched, - Ballina, Dungarvan, Enniscorthy, Mullingar and Rathkeale. This brings the number of designated RAPID areas 51.
RAPID aims to:
- Increase the investment made by Government departments and state agencies in the 51 communities;
- Improve the delivery of public services through integration and coordination
- Enhance the opportunities for communities to participate in the strategic improvement of their areas.
RAPID is implemented locally by a cross-sectoral Area Implementation Team (AIT) and is supported by a RAPID Coordinator. The City/County Development Board monitor the programme locally. Each RAPID area has produced a plan for the implementation of the programme in their community. These plans contained a variety of proposals to Government departments and state agencies for the funding of new projects. They also contained proposals to improve local coordination of public service delivery.
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