323 Men’s Sheds Throughout Ireland Set to Benefit from Government Funding

The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Michael Ring TD, has confirmed that 323 Men’s Sheds have been approved to receive funding from the Department of Rural and Community Development.

In July 2018, Minister Ring announced the allocation of €500,000 under the Men’s Sheds stream of the Community Enhancement Programme. This will enable individual Men’s Sheds to upgrade their facilities by purchasing equipment or by carrying out minor works to improve their shed. The initiative was developed in association with the Irish Men’s Sheds Association.

Following the allocation of the funding to each Local Authority area last July, applications were then overseen by Local Community Development Committees around the country. Following this process, Minister Ring can now confirm that funding has been allocated to 323 Men’s Sheds across every county in Ireland.

Some examples of how Men’s Sheds around the country have benefitted from the funding:

• Ballina Men’s Shed in Mayo has been allocated funding to acquire a band-saw for their carpentry workshop, which will enable them to take on bigger projects.
• LiffordMen’s Shed in Donegal will use the money to buy tools and materials in order to replace the roof on their Shed.
• Passage West Men’s Shed in Cork is using the funding to purchase three new laptops, which will form the backbone of an ambitious new computer course, aimed at members of local sheds who lack digital literacy skills.
• Blackrock Community Men’s Shed, Dublin, is using their share of the Fund to build a meeting room, which is currently under construction.

A full list of projects supported under this fund is available at the below link:

https://drcd.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/Mens-Sheds-Funding-Jan-2019.pdf