DAERA Minister Andrew Muir has welcomed the award of £7.91million in grants to over 2,350 rural community organisations and businesses over the past year.

The awards have been made through the Department’s Rural Micro Capital Grant Scheme and Rural Business Development Grant Scheme.

Minister Muir was speaking during a visit to Moneyslane Rural Community Organisation, the recipient of a grant totalling £1,491 from the Rural Micro Capital Grant Scheme in 2025/2026 to modernise their Community Hub.

Minister Muir said: “I am delighted that 1,048 Letters of Offer for funding of £1.74million have been issued to voluntary and community organisations throughout Northern Ireland from the Rural Micro Capital Grant Scheme.

"The Scheme is a key initiative delivered through my Department's Tackling Rural Poverty and Social Isolation Framework. It supports rural community-led, voluntary organisations in identifying and implementing projects that address locally identified poverty, isolation, loneliness and health and wellbeing issues.  

“I was delighted to hear how Moneyslane Rural Community organisation have availed of the Department’s Rural Micro Capital Grant Scheme over many years to enhance their facilities for the local rural community. I express my sincere gratitude to the committee and to all voluntary and community organisations across Northern Ireland for their ongoing work in maintaining and developing a wide range of opportunities and facilities for people in local rural communities.”

Minister Muir also visited BWE Equestrian Ltd, a rural micro-business in Ballyward, where he presented their Letter of Offer of £5,850 from the Rural Business Development Grant Scheme to enable the purchase of a ‘Shockwave’ linear soil decompaction machine.

Minister Muir said: “I want to take this opportunity to highlight the significant investment of £6.17million, also from my Department’s Tackling Rural Poverty and Social Isolation Framework, to 1,310 rural businesses through the Rural Business Development Grant Scheme.”

He added: “It’s been great to meet the staff of BWE Equestrian Limited, a first-time applicant to the Scheme, and to hear how the grant will help their business’s sustainability and increase their potential for growth. This is exactly the type of support the scheme aims deliver across Northern Ireland.”

The Minister concluded: “Both the Rural Micro Capital Grant Scheme and the Rural Business Development Grant Scheme are important contributors to my commitment to build strong, sustainable and diverse rural communities where people want to live, work and invest.”

Source - https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk