On 23 September 2015, I was delighted to announce, with the Taoiseach and my colleague Minister Kelly, the new Town and Village Renewal Scheme. The scheme will be multi-annual in nature, commencing in 2016 and will have a budget of €30 million. This new scheme is part of a concerted effort to support the development of rural towns and villages, not only as a component of a broader approach to rural development but also to improve the environment of rural dwellers in a way that will increase their quality of life and simultaneously support potential economic activity in their area.
The initiative will be channelled through the local authorities and details of the application process will be available over the coming weeks.