Vol. 1042 No. 5
46. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development how her Department will work with local authorities to encourage them to apply for new funding for the town and village renewal scheme; if there will be a minimum submission requirement for each local authority; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41426/23]
I call Deputy Paul Donnelly, as Deputy Ó Laoghaire's representative, to introduce the first question.
How will the Department work with local authorities to encourage them to apply for new funding for the town and village renewal scheme? Will there be a minimum submission requirement for each local authority? I ask the Minister to make a statement on the matter.
I thank the Deputy for asking this question. Introduced in 2016, the town and village renewal scheme is one of a number of measures designed to rejuvenate towns and villages throughout Ireland. Since its launch, over €156 million has been allocated to more than 1,700 projects supporting towns and villages the length and breadth of the country.
As committed to in Our Rural Future, Ireland's rural development policy, the town and village renewal scheme priorities are reviewed at the end of each scheme year to ensure that funding is targeted effectively to support vibrant and attractive communities. This year's scheme has a renewed focus on town centre economic and social vibrancy.
This will be achieved through projects focusing on town regeneration, enhancing streetscapes and bringing vacant and derelict buildings back into use as community multi-purpose spaces through refurbishment and renovation.
The town and village renewal scheme is administered through local authorities, which work closely with local communities and businesses to develop proposals that can make a lasting impact on rural towns and villages. Under the 2023 town and village renewal scheme, there is no minimum submission requirement. However, local authorities are invited to submit up to five applications up to the value of €1.5 million per local authority. For areas with inhabited offshore islands, six applications are permitted up to a maximum of €1.75 million. The town and village renewal scheme team in my Department engages systematically with local authorities and assists with any queries that may arise during the process of advertising, preparing and submitting applications to ensure the scheme has the maximum impact. Applications under this year's scheme must be received by my Department by close of business on 10 November 2023.
I welcome the fact that it is now open. In the previous discussion that Deputy Ó Laoghaire may have had, it might not have been officially launched. If I am correct, I think it was launched in July. It is a really good idea. I notice the ring-fenced projects for the offshore island communities. As the Minister knows, we had an historic moment last Friday when we were on Árainn Mhór for the first committee meeting on the islands, which was broadcast live. It was extremely warmly welcomed by the islanders themselves. Something that really caught me in the couple of days I spent on Árainn Mhór was the need for investment, especially relating to dereliction. There seems to be a lot of dereliction on that island. There is not on others. There is a brilliant, vibrant community there who use their own resources and skills to build brilliant community initiatives. I noticed the plaza they had on the beach. It was absolutely fantastic. It is a huge addition to the community.
I am delighted the Deputy was on Árainn Mhór because I was there earlier in the year when we launched the islands policy. That lovely plaza on the beach was funded through my Department. It is a wonderful asset to the community. There is also a fantastic remote working hub on the island. I was delighted, when I was watching Culture Night, that one of the shows came live from Árainn Mhór, on the plaza on the beach. It would do your heart good just to see it. There is a really vibrant community in Árainn Mhór. I have visited the island three times. If one wants an example of how the town and village renewal scheme and other supports from my Department are working, it is a very good one. I was delighted to work with Donegal County Council to fund the local improvement scheme, which is a scheme in which we put a special allocation aside for the islands. I do not know whether the Deputy got the chance to go out to see the lighthouse.
I did.
There is a wonderful road out to the lighthouse. It was in a bit of a mess, to say the least. That has all been funded. That is a good news story. We need to build on that. The town and village renewal scheme was set up way back in 2016 when I was in the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. I introduced the scheme. It is a bottom-up approach. That means that communities know what they want and I think it is a good scheme.
I met Jerry Early, who brought the Minister around the island on the day and probably brought her on that bumpy road to ensure that the funding came through. I would like to ask one question. The press release at the launch also had a statement on refurbishment of existing community centres. Is that in addition to the existing community centres fund? Can someone apply for both or is it separate?
We have increased the maximum grant under the town and village renewal scheme to €500,000. Last year, there was €27 million under the scheme. As I said, it is a ground-up approach. We put a focus on improving streetscape. There have been grants for businesses to do up their premises, put on the traditional shopfront, paint the building and put in some outdoor dining spaces. That is making a real difference. We have a larger project where local groups can use town and village renewal scheme funding to buy an old building and convert it for community use. If they want to use that as a community hall, that is fine. There are examples of old schools, bank buildings, courthouses and even old railway stations that are being converted into community centres and remote working hubs. In answer to the Deputy's question, yes, they can do that. It is about local need. In some places, parts of the building could be turned into a home for the men's shed, which is very popular, because for some men's sheds, it is hard to get the right properties.
48. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development given that the community, voluntary and charity sector has expressed deep concerns about the recruitment and retention of staff, the measures that are being taken by her to deal with this crisis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41496/23]
I ask the Minister about the community, voluntary and charity sector, which has expressed deep concerns about the recruitment and retention of staff, the measures being taken by the Minister to deal with the crisis, and if she will make a statement on the matter.
I thank the Deputy for the question. The Government's five-year strategy to support the community and voluntary sector, Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities, was published in 2019. This is a whole-of-government strategy led by my Department, which is implemented collaboratively with the sector through the cross-sector group on local and community development. This strategy reaffirms the Government's commitment to supporting the sector, while also recognising the reality of finite resources and the need to ensure that available resources are focused on providing effective services. The strategy includes a commitment to develop a sustainable funding model to support the community and voluntary sector.
My Department is aware of the challenges currently facing organisations in the sector around the recruitment and retention of staff. Community and voluntary organisations are funded by a wide range of Government Departments and agencies through different funding schemes and programmes. While my Department provides funding to some community and voluntary organisations, there is no national pay agreement for the community and voluntary sector as a whole. My Department does not have a mandate to set pay rates for what is a wide array of diverse and independent organisations, most of which get funding from other Government Departments.
However, my Department has taken steps in relation to our own programmes. For example, as the Deputy will be aware, a redesigned community services programme, CSP, was launched earlier this year, which introduced a new differentiated funding rate allocation model. Five-year multi-annual funding contracts have now been issued to CSP organisations, under which almost all organisations currently supported have received additional funding. A further example of multi-annual funding is the scheme to support national organisations in the community and voluntary sector. Funding totalling €22 million is currently provided on a multi-annual basis to 82 organisations under this scheme.
I acknowledge the work that the Minister of State and his Department have done on this. It is critically important for the Government and Ministers sitting around a table to address this issue at a governmental level across the board. When we talk about community-led projects, many would involve sections 38, 39 and 56 organisations in towns. When we talk about the community, voluntary and charity sector, we are talking about a vast array of really vital services that are provided to the community. There is a growing pay gap of between 10% and 12% at those services, which has led to those community, voluntary and charity sector organisations being unable to recruit staff. If one cannot recruit staff, then one cannot provide a service. Some of the services in the community are now unable to provide a full service that they have previously provided, for the simple fact that they do not have the staff and cannot get them because the likes of the HSE and Tusla are recruiting at a much higher grade, with proper pensions and conditions, and all of those things related to working in the public sector. The others in the community and voluntary sector are providing that public service. The Government needs to grapple with this.
I am well aware of the issues with section 39 and other organisations whose main funding relationship is with other Government agencies and Departments. I would encourage both parties back to the table at the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC. I certainly have a role in government in terms of explaining and pushing the value of community and voluntary organisations with other Departments. We have an agreed approach across Government in terms of how we engage with the community and voluntary sector, and the values and principles document, which has been agreed by all Departments in terms of how we engage with the community and voluntary sector, is a useful guide going forward.
The implications of the pay gap for community and voluntary organisations, particularly section 39 organisations, were laid out to me in some detail by the local group Prosper Fingal, which does amazing work in north County Dublin. I met its CEO recently and I certainly took away some key messages from him that I have brought to senior Government Ministers.
Ivan Cooper, the CEO of The Wheel, recently talked about that service. He said that having lost 40% to 50% of its staff in the last year alone, it is struggling to find experienced people to replace those who have moved on. Less experienced staff cannot reasonably handle as much work as experienced employees or provide care to the same high standard, so the service is forced to reduce the number of individuals it can provide care for or risk a serious fall-off in the quality of that care. We are talking about some of the most vulnerable people who need help and support and need a service, but it is operating with 40% to 50% of the staff and it cannot provide that service with less experienced staff. As somebody who is involved in a community drugs team which will be looking to recruit staff over the coming months, I find it deeply worrying that not just addiction services but services for homeless people, disability services and services right across the board are struggling desperately. I again urge the Minister of State to raise this issue. It needs to be sorted at a cross-governmental level and it needs to be sorted quickly. These services are for people who are the most vulnerable in our society and they need that help and support.
I appreciate the Deputy’s advocacy for those who need those services, which are invaluable. It has been made clear to me the practical difficulties that the pay differential is creating. I think they should be paid more and, within government, we believe they should be paid more. We have gone through the WRC process to land on an agreed figure. We are at an impasse at the moment, which is unfortunate, and I would urge everyone back to the table. These services are crucial and we need to recognise their value in government as well.
49. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will outline the present and proposed spending in outdoor recreation measures in relation to Waterford city and county; and what future projects are under consideration by her Department. [41578/23]
I ask the Minister to outline the present and proposed spending from the recently announced outdoor recreation measures fund in Waterford city and county, and what future projects are under consideration.
As part of the Our Rural Future policy and the new national outdoor recreation strategy, Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors, I am committed to building on the wonderful opportunities provided by Ireland’s outdoor recreation sector. Indeed, Waterford is a great example of what is possible in this sector.
The outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme, ORIS, provides funding for the development and enhancement of outdoor recreational infrastructure, such as walking trails, cycleways, blueways and mountain trails. Since the launch of the scheme in 2016, funding of more than €106 million has supported more than 1,500 projects across the country, and this includes 46 projects in Waterford, totalling €2.9 million. Earlier this year, I launched the 2023 outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme with an allocation of €16 million, a €1 million increase on 2022. Nine applications have been submitted by Waterford City and County Council under measure 1 of the scheme and the project development measure, and these applications are now being assessed. The deadline for applications under measures 2 and 3 is 27 October. I expect to announce successful projects under most of the measures in the first quarter of 2024.
I should note that outdoor recreation is also supported by my Department in a number of other ways. For example, more than €1.5 million has been provided to 20 recreation-based projects in Waterford under the town and village renewal scheme. My Department’s walks scheme also supports the ongoing maintenance of two important trails in Waterford, St. Declan’s Way and the Anne Valley trail. I was also pleased to approve the appointment of a new rural recreation officer position in Waterford, which commenced last year.
This investment, together with the delivery of the new outdoor recreation strategy, is helping to transform this sector in Waterford and throughout Ireland.
I know the Minister has visited Waterford and I have had the pleasure of accompanying her on some of those visits. She rightly pointed out the very significant number of attractions. We are blessed in Waterford with the topography that we have, with lakes, rivers, mountains and the sea right on our doorstep.
The measures that the Minister is announcing are very welcome. However, it is important that we get good joined-up, strategic thinking. The Minister mentioned the rural regeneration and development fund, RRDF, for areas like Cappoquin, Lismore, Tallow and Ballyduff Upper. This is vital. I would ask that when these projects are being looked at, we would have wide engagement with private sector stakeholders to try to ensure they are aware of the projects that are being proposed and see how we might integrate them into the overall proposition. In that way, we can really flesh these out and make sure that where money is being spent, it is being targeted to give bang for the buck in terms of the tourism and amenity opportunity.
The Deputy is very fortunate to come from Waterford because it is a beautiful county. The Deputy was there when I visited St. Declan's Way and I was also at the fabulous Mount Congreve Gardens, which is such a wonderful amenity. There are 115 km of beautiful walks and scenery and I am delighted my Department has been able to support the projects. Of course, there is also the Waterford greenway, which is a big tourism draw for the county. Since the pandemic, as we all know, there is a newfound appreciation for the outdoors.
These projects are identified at local level by the local authorities, which could engage with local stakeholders and make them aware of what is coming. That would mean there are opportunities because when we develop these walkways or some of the outdoor recreation spaces, the coffee shop, or even the mobile coffee shop, springs up, and that all brings extra income to an area.
The infrastructure fund is in my Department. It is a great scheme that is supporting the development of walking trails, blueways, forest parks, mountain bike trails and so on. There are many very good projects in Waterford, as the Deputy will know. The Cappoquin railway bridge loop walk got €500,000; the Anne Valley walk got €142,000; the Crough Wood trailhead got €365,000; the Mahon Falls project in the Comeragh mountains got €200,000; and the Copper Coast walking trail has been given €50,000 for a feasibility study. If the Deputy encourages people to come forward with the ideas, we are happy to support them.
The Minister has done a fair advertising job there in terms of speaking about the amenities that are on offer. There are two that I would like to highlight and they may well be on the Minister's desk already, and those are the development of the blueways, particularly on the River Blackwater - the Minister referenced Cappoquin - and the Waterford estuary. We have great visitor attractions but, ideally, we need to try to develop great destinations where people will stay over, not just visit for an hour or two and move away. We are trying to develop a more long-term tourism proposal around all of these and that is why the RRDF and URDF - the urban and rural regeneration and development funds - are very important to try to give support in terms of accommodation and commercial business offshoots that can be developed around these projects.
I thank the Minister for her support, and she has been very supportive, to be fair. I look forward to engaging with the local authority. As I said, we will come to the Minister with further projects and I hope she will have a kind and listening ear.
It has been my pleasure to travel to Waterford a few times and I will be delighted to get back down again to see more of the projects. The good news is that I will be announcing more projects early next year. The applications have not closed for measures two and three. They will be closing on 27 October. They will be coming in at the end of October and then they will be assessed. We will announce the successful applications in the first quarter. As I said, get the applications in, because they are a great asset to the whole area. They do bring people in. In particular, the forest walks are becoming very popular. Adventure tourism is the way forward. We have a lot of natural amenities. We need to build on those and bring more people into the various areas. Of course, they are very lucky in Waterford because they have a coastline as well. We do not have that in Monaghan.
They do not have that in Monaghan.
