Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 January 2014
218. Deputy Derek Nolan asked the Minister for Finance when he expects to be in a position to extend the living city initiative; if it will include all Georgian buildings, located in Dublin city, that are used as principal private residences; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4175/14]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that I announced in my Budget Statement that the Living City Initiative, which was enacted in the Finance Act 2013, would be extended to now include the cities of Dublin, Cork, Galway and Kilkenny as well the original target cities of Limerick and Waterford. The inclusion of these four cities within the Initiative followed the results of a thorough independent ex ante cost benefit analysis.
The Initiative will target certain areas of these six cities, particularly those areas which are most in need of regeneration. Those designated areas will be decided upon following consultations with the relevant local authorities and other Government agencies. These consultations have just commenced. It is not yet possible to estimate the number of properties which might be eligible in any of the cities but I have made it clear that I do not see this as a wide-spread Initiative, as it is targeted at those areas which are most in need of attention.
The submission to the European Commission seeking State Aid approval will be issued shortly.
